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
New French ambassador: Paris peace summit won’t have fresh ideas-Presenting credentials, Hélène Le Gal says conference rejected by Israel aims to ensure peace process with Palestinians doesn’t fall by wayside-By Raphael Ahren December 12, 2016, 11:16 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The international peace conference to be held in Paris later this month will not contain any novel ideas on how to solve the Middle East conflict but is mainly intended to prevent the issue from disappearing amid other global crises, France’s new envoy to Israel said Monday.“What we propose is nothing new but [we are] trying to keep the subject on the agenda and not letting it down because there are other crises in the world,” Ambassador Hélène Le Gal said. “We continue to propose things and it’s always in a very good spirit toward Israel.”As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, France is “always keen to propose” solutions to various conflicts across the globe, Le Gal told President Reuven Rivlin after she handed him her letter of credence, officially taking up her post.Rivlin welcomed the new ambassador and hailed the country’s longstanding support for Israel, but at the same time made plain Jerusalem’s misgivings about the Paris peace summit, scheduled for December 21.Israel has said it will not attend the summit, preferring direct talks instead, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu going so far last week as to offer to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for negotiations in Paris if French President Francois Hollande cancels the confab.Rivlin said there was little danger of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict falling off the world’s agenda, though he admitted it was important to keep some issues front and center.“Unfortunately everyone knows that in the Middle East there are no shortcuts. You have to build confidence,” Rivlin said. “The only way to get to an understanding with our cousins, with our neighbors, with our partners — the Palestinians — for being here in this very tiny piece of earth we are sitting on, is only by direct negotiations and the understanding that we have to accept them and they have to accept us.”Rivlin added that Jerusalem is ready for direct negotiations without preconditions but peace remains remote due to Palestinian recalcitrance.“Unfortunately most of the Palestinians still reject, from a national and a religious point of view, the existence of a Jewish state of Israel,” he said. “It is needed to explain to them that we are here as a fact. We are already half of the Jewish people here in Israel; more than six and half million Jews live in Israel, and they have to realize we are here.”“There is no other way but to live together and try to reach for a better future that will bring prosperity to everyone,” he added.Le Gal, a soft-spoken career diplomat close to President Francois Hollande, was first posted in Israel two decades ago and is considered a friend of Israel.“For me, to come back is really like coming home in a way, it’s a pleasure,” she said.The first woman to hold the post, Le Gal replaces Patrick Maisonnave, who held the position since 2013.The French have been pushing an initiative aimed at revitalizing the moribund peace process between Palestinian and Israelis. While the Palestinians have welcomed the initiative, Israel has remained critical of the plan, arguing that only bilateral negotiations can prove successful.Since a peace summit in June in Paris officially kicked off the French initiative, three groups have been tasked with examining avenues to propel the peace process forward, according to a report in French newspaper Le Monde last week.One group has looked at building the institutions needed for the establishment of a Palestinian state; another has studied the economic incentives peace would bring for those involved, in particular for the European Union; while a third group worked on enhancing the participation of civil society in the process.The proposals of the three groups will be examined during the summit, the report said.Paris is also reportedly examining different avenues for conveying the findings to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, either on the sidelines of the December summit or by sending representatives to Ramallah and Jerusalem.Dov Lieber contributed to this report.
PA ministers secretly hope there won’t be Palestinian state, deputy minister claims-Ayoub Kara, in charge of strengthening Israel’s connections with regional neighbors, calls Jewish state a ‘paradise’ for Arabs-By Dov Lieber December 11, 2016, 11:29 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
There are ministers in the Palestinian Authority secretly hoping that a Palestinian state won’t be established, Deputy Minister of Regional Cooperation Ayoub Kara said on Sunday night.“I sit with ministers in the Palestinian Authority, and they are pleading that there won’t be a Palestinian state,” Kara, who leads Israel’s diplomatic efforts to strengthen relations with its regional neighbors, claimed. He did not specify which ministers he spoke with.There are currently no Palestinian Authority ministers on record who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state.The deputy minister’s statements came during the annual “Zionist Conference for Human Rights,” organized by the right-wing organization, Im Tirtzu, which battles what it sees as delegitimization of Israel.During this year’s conference, the fourth in the group’s history, Im Tirtzu aimed to highlight Israel’s “integration of minorities,” meaning the mostly Arabic-speaking non-Jewish community, who comprise around 20 percent of Israel’s population.Kara, who is a Druze citizen of Israel and a long-time member of the ruling Likud party, maintained “Israel is a paradise, without the 72 virgins, for all Arabs in Israel — and even in the Palestinian Authority,” to the applause and laughter of the around 200 people in attendance.“In no other place in the Middle East are minorities growing,” Kara said.The deputy minister also heaped praise on to one of the conference’s main guests, Father Gabriel Naddaf, who in recent years has campaigned for Christians in Israel to join the Israeli army.Christians in Israel make up just 2 percent of the population.Regardless of religion, for Israeli Arabs — who are exempted by law from military service — deciding to join the IDF is very much a taboo.“The Jewish State will [continue] to exist only if we defend it together,” said Naddaf Sunday night to much applause.Naddaf concluded his remarks by reading a letter from a Christian girl from the Arab-Israeli town of Nazareth who wanted to enlist in the army.“If they claim that Israel is an occupier, than its occupation in contrast to other occupations is paradise. And just like they attack it, I will fight for [Israel’s] sake, because I would like that the land of our forefathers will once again be liberated from the real occupiers,” Naddaf said the girl had written.Naddaf, who was one of the ceremonial torch-lighters at the state’s Independence Day ceremony in Jerusalem this past May, was recently accused of sexually harassing young people he helped enlist in the military.The priest has dismissed the claims as an “evil plot” by jealous enemies. “God will punish these people for harming me, my wife and my two sons who are serving now in the military,” Naddaf wrote on Facebook when the allegations surfaced.The Im Tirtzu conference centered around the screening of “My Home,” a documentary the group says explores the strong connection of the “silent Arab minority” to the State of Israel.The documentary features Kara and Naddaf, as well as two others who spoke at Sunday’s conference, Mohammad Kabiya, a Muslim-Bedouin who served in the IDF, and Jonathan Elkhoury, a Lebanese Christian who immigrated to Israel in 2000 after Israel allowed members of the South Lebanese Army to seek refuge in the Jewish state following Jerusalem’s decision to leave southern Lebanon.In the documentary, the speakers’ affinity towards Israel is contrasted with opposition to Israeli policies by Arab-Israel lawmakers, especially Joint (Arab) List members Hanin Zoabi and Ahmad Tibi.The Im Tirtzu conference did not feature any non-Bedouin Muslim Arab—the community that makes up the majority of Israel’s Arabic-speaking population.AP contributed to this report.
Iran to build nuclear-powered ships after US ‘breaches’ atomic deal-Rouhani slams Congress for expected renewal of sanctions, says Tehran will complain to international committee overseeing accord-By AFP December 13, 2016, 4:30 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
TEHRAN — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday ordered the country’s scientists to start work on nuclear-powered ships in response to the expected renewal of sanctions by the United States.In letters read out on state television, Rouhani criticized the US move as a breach of last year’s nuclear accord and told Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation to start work on “planning the design and production of nuclear fuel and reactors for maritime transport.”The president said he had also ordered the foreign ministry to prepare a legal complaint to the international committee that oversees the nuclear accord.Under the deal signed in July 2015, world powers agreed to lift international sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran’s nuclear program.But US lawmakers recently voted to renew 10-year-old sanctions legislation against Iran related not just to nuclear issues, but also ballistic missile-testing and human rights.US President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law in the coming days, saying it makes no difference to last year’s agreement because the White House will continue to suspend all the sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program.Iranian lawmakers had raised the prospect of building nuclear-powered ships and submarines back in 2012 at the height of tensions with the international community over the nuclear program.International analysts said the announcement was likely just a bluff, since it would be an extremely costly effort for little strategic gain.Then nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said that Iran had the capacity to design nuclear reactors for ships but no plans to do so.He also said that nuclear-powered ships did not require the sort of highly enriched uranium which could also be used for weapons.-Agreement wording ambiguous-Iran has always insisted that its nuclear program was entirely peaceful, but hoped an end to sanctions would help revive its battered economy.Although it has seen a significant boost in oil sales since the deal came into force in January, its hopes of attracting large-scale foreign investment have been thwarted by continuing US sanctions in other areas.The biggest problem lies with world banks, which are needed to finance the bigger trade deals but remain wary of returning to Iran, fearing they could be fined by Washington.The Iran Sanctions Act passed the US Senate 99-0 earlier this month after easily clearing the House of Representatives in November.The language in the nuclear agreement makes it unclear whether renewing the sanctions — and keeping the nuclear ones suspended — amounts to a violation.At a press conference last week, conservative parliament speaker Ali Larijani said parts of the deal were “rushed.”“Some of the sections of the JCPOA should have been written with more precision to stop differing interpretations,” Larijani said.Rouhani, who is expected to run for a second term in May, has faced a barrage of criticism from conservatives who say his team made too many concessions for minimal economic gain.In a speech last week, he emphasized that his team had not acted alone and that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was closely involved at every stage of the negotiations.“We took no step on the JCPOA issue without consulting the honorable leader,” Rouhani said.
Iran: If US imposes war, Israel, Gulf states will be destroyed-Iranian defense minister says Mideast worried about conflict risks with Trump, amid president-elect’s vow to dismantle ‘disastrous’ nuclear deal-By Times of Israel staff and Agencies December 12, 2016, 3:45 am
The election of Donald Trump has led to unease in the Middle East over threats to peace in the region and any war would lead to the destruction of Israel and the Gulf states, Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan warned Sunday.His remarks came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Sunday that he would work with Trump to dismantle the nuclear agreement with Iran, signed last year over Israel’s fierce criticism of the pact.Trump said during the campaign he would tear up the nuclear deal, calling it a “disastrous” and one of the worst agreements in history and has vowed to take a harder line with Tehran.This has led to concern among the Iranians and in the wider region, Dehghan indicated.“Even though a businessman, the assistants that … (Trump) has chosen may map a different path for him, and this has led to unease, particularly among Persian Gulf countries,” Dehghan said at a security conference in Tehran, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.“Considering Trump’s character and that he measures the cost of everything in dollars, it does not seem likely that he would take strong action against our country,” he said, but “enemies may want to impose a war on us based on false calculations and only taking into consideration their material capabilities.”“Such a war would mean the destruction of the Zionist regime (Israel) … and will engulf the whole region and could lead to a world war,” Mehr quoted Dehghan as saying.Iran has long backed armed groups committed to Israel’s destruction and its leaders have called for it to be wiped off the map. Israel fears that Iran’s nuclear program is designed to threaten its existence.“Among other consequences of the war,” Dehgan added, “would be the destruction of the city-states on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, because they lack popular support,” in reference to small Western-allied Gulf states such as the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.In a wide-ranging interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, Netanyahu said it was not too late to undo the nuclear deal that was the landmark foreign policy achievement of President Barack Obama, noting that he would present Trump with five alternatives to the accord, without elaborating, However, his pick for Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, is opposed to rescinding the accord.
Punishable offenses: Shabbat desecration, immodest dress, making speeches or singing without permission-Jail women for shofar-blowing? That’s what Shas’s Western Wall bill says-Mixed-gender prayer at Robinson’s Arch would lead to 6 months in jail or hefty fine; incendiary legislation is unlikely to pass, though Shas chief warns struggle against Reform is ‘uncompromising’-By Marissa Newman December 13, 2016, 6:01 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
It’s a blazing Saturday in mid-August as members of an Evangelical Christian family from Kentucky make their way toward the Western Wall. On this visit to the holy site, their third, they’ve decided to skip the segregated plaza in favor of the more intimate Robinson’s Arch, because Mom has insisted they pray “as a family.”Following their prayers, the family sits down and sets up a picnic as the 10-year-old son runs around wildly with the family dog, who has accompanied them on their trip. Mom, moved by the experience, whips out the guitar she’s insisted on carrying everywhere and begins to sing. Rolling her eyes, the family’s teenage daughter — dressed in a tank top and shorts on this scorching summer day — pulls out her cellphone to craft the perfect selfie. Meanwhile, Dad, fed up with just a little too much family time, meanders over to the general plaza. Tucked away in the men’s section, far from his wife’s eyes, he surreptitiously pulls out a cigarette and lights up, savoring the brief respite.We hope you’re enjoying your family vacation, fictional US visitors. Because, in a world in which proposed legislation spearheaded by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party becomes law, you would all be going to prison.Unless, that is, you can cough up the NIS 70,000 in fines (approx. $18,500) for the seven offenses you’ve committed.Lawmakers from Shas and United Torah Judaism, as well as Likud’s Oren Hazan, Dudi Amsalem and Miki Zohar and Jewish Home’s Betzalel Smotrich, Moti Yogev, and Nissan Slomianksy, have endorsed the proposed legislation, officially lodged on Sunday, that would anchor Orthodox practice in law in the entire Western Wall vicinity.The proposal would impose a ban on a slew of practices, including mixed-gender prayer, on Robinson’s Arch, where the government has pledged to build a prayer plaza for Reform and Conservative Jews. The construction of the egalitarian plaza has been put on ice since it was announced in January, reportedly due to pressure from the Haredi political parties.“Those who know me know that I am against imposing religious laws,” Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who is the leader of the Shas party, said last Tuesday. “I once said that if there was a law in Israel for circumcision, we would see many fewer Jews performing the commandment.” At the same time, addressing the Western Wall proposed law, he added: “You must know that any recognition or compromise with the Reform means a recognition of their way as a ‘stream in Judaism.’ Our struggle against them is uncompromising. They bring assimilation and destruction.”Despite the long line-up of coalition MKs endorsing the bill and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need to placate his coalition partners, the legislation is unlikely to make headway, as stirrings of opposition emerge from the coalition Kulanu party. Moreover, the Haredi parties, in their coalition agreements, have signed on a provision that says the coalition will torpedo any legislation that changes the existing religious status quo.While debates will likely rage over whether this is a change in the status quo, since Orthodox practice largely governs the site, penalizing men and women praying together at Robinson’s Arch would undoubtedly mark a departure from the existing arrangements.-What the law says-The proposal defines the “Western Wall” as the area from its southernmost tip to Dung Gate, “including Robinson’s Arch,” and any structure — above and below ground — that falls within this demarcation.The religious “local custom” permitted at the site will be dictated by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, it stipulates.Throughout this space, the following behavior will be met with six months’ imprisonment or a NIS 10,000 fine: • Mixed-gender prayer services, or attempts by men or women to cross the partition dividing the sexes in the plaza. Eating, drinking, or sleeping in areas that are not designated for these actions. • Any desecration of Shabbat, based on Orthodox practice (the legislation does not distinguish between Jewish and non-Jewish visitors in this respect or any other). In addition, “holding a ceremony, including a religious ceremony, that is not based on local practice, and which offends the community of worshipers at the site.” • Wearing “clothing that is not appropriate for the holiness of the site” — though specifics are not provided — and offering any religious service without the explicit permission of the authorities governing the Western Wall. • Setting up any sort of shops or stalls in the area or distributing fliers or promotional content. Playing musical instruments and singing without the permission of the authorities, making a speech or declaration of any kind, smoking in the existing Western Wall plaza, animal slaughter or bringing animals into the area without approval. • Within the women’s section in the existing plaza, “any ceremony that includes taking out a Torah scroll, reading from it, blowing a shofar, wearing a tallit or tefillin.”Moreover, the legislation states that professional photographers will need permission to take photos at the site, though it does not appear to be a punishable offense. And it enshrines the partition separating men and women worshipers in law.The lawmakers behind the bill have described it as an effort to “regulate” the site, comparing it to the Jewish Home’s ongoing effort to legalize 4,000 housing units in outposts and settlement construction built on privately owned Palestinian land as part of its “Regulation Bill.”“We saw last month, when a coalition faction fights for its principles until the end — it is successful,” Deri told the Kikar HaShabat website, referring to the Regulation Bill. “Is the fate of Amona more important that the fate of the Western Wall? The Western Wall hasn’t been regulated since it was liberated [in 1967, during the Six Day War].”The Western Wall: The existing arrangements-Western Wall regulations dictate that women cannot wear a tallit, or prayer shawl, in the same manner as men, as it contravenes the “local custom” determined by the Wall’s chief rabbi. In 2003, the High Court of Justice upheld a government ban on women wearing tefillin (phylacteries) or tallit, or reading from a Torah scroll at the Western Wall plaza. That same court decision demanded the government build an egalitarian section at Robinson’s Arch.In 2013, a Jerusalem court reinterpreted the High Court decision as a recommendation rather than a legal order, thus permitting women to don tefillin and prayer shawls at the Western Wall. That move was lauded by groups such as the Women of the Wall, who seek pluralistic prayer at the holy site. Since then, there have been periodic scuffles between Orthodox and non-Orthodox worshipers at the site, and some arrests of Women of the Wall activists for smuggling a Torah into the women’s section which is banned under the Western Wall guidelines.In January, Netanyahu announced the mixed-gender section would be built at Robinson’s Arch in a decision lauded by world Jewry. But within days of its jubilant announcement, the cabinet decision drew the ire of the ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu’s tenuous coalition and its implementation has been on ice ever since. In September, the High Court of Justice reportedly rebuked the government for the stalemate in building the new plaza.While the construction of the site has been stalled and Netanyahu has asked Reform and Conservative Jews to keep silent on the issue, it is difficult to imagine that the prime minister, who approved the compromise less than a year ago, would now do a dramatic u-turn and ban mixed gender prayer altogether, thumbing his nose at the bulk of American Jewry.“I hope that the prime minster will come out against this bill,” Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Michael Oren told The Times of Israel on Tuesday. “I will press upon him my position. I mean, who understands the Diaspora-Israel relationship and the importance of American Jewish support better than him?”“This bill makes a mockery of all the efforts made by recent governments to ensure that the Western Wall is a place that unites, rather than divides, the Jewish people,” said Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, who negotiated the Robinson’s Arch compromise, in a statement. “This bill’s passage would have grave consequences for the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. Based on the Prime Minister’s strong personal commitment to strengthening the Israel-Diaspora relationship, it is my fervent hope that this damaging bill will be summarily dismissed by a majority of the coalition and of the Knesset.”In the event that the legislation goes ahead, Liberal groups will likely petition the High Court of Justice, which has in the past ruled that the government must support non-Orthodox prayer at the Arch.-Coalition trouble-The bill will also likely face opposition from within the coalition.A Kulanu party spokesperson said the party had not yet formulated its stance on the bill, as it was only submitted to the Knesset several days ago. However, two prominent lawmakers from the party, Oren and MK Rachel Azaria, on Monday lashed out at the proposal as a “fatal blow to the relations between the State of Israel and Jewish communities abroad.” Oren said the issue had come up in the Kulanu faction on Monday, where he and Azaria outlined their opposition.“We will not allow Knesset members to sacrifice the relationship between Israel and world Jewry in a caprice stemming from a desire to control the Western Wall and bar every Jewish man and woman from praying in accordance with their custom,” the two said in a joint statement, adding that it would be a “blatant violation of the status quo” at the site.Moreover, in their binding coalition agreements, both Shas and United Torah Judaism have signed off on a clause that would see the coalition oppose any legislation that changes the religious status quo. This condition was likely sought by the Haredi parties, fearing the easing of restrictions on matters such as the Sabbath, conversions, and personal status. But it would also seemingly apply to attempts to impose fresh legal restrictions at the Western Wall.“The status quo on matters of religion and state will be upheld as was customary in Israel for decades,” the agreements say. “No private legislation which changes the status quo on matters of religion and state will be advanced or approved with the exception of what is detailed in this agreement. [For] any legislation submitted in opposition to what is stated here, all the coalition factions will vote against it and coalition discipline will be enforced to remove it from the agenda in the Knesset committees and plenum.”The Yisrael Beytenu coalition agreement also gives veto power to every coalition party on matters of religion and state, noting that no legislation on these issues will be advanced without the unanimous support of all parties. A Yisrael Beytenu spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment on the Western Wall proposal.Raoul Wootlif and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Likud’s bad boy MK Oren Hazan facing assault charges-Lawmaker denies he attacked Ariel mayor in 2014, says case ‘built on foundation of lies and political rivalry’-By Raoul Wootliff December 13, 2016, 4:58 pm-the times of israel
The attorney general’s office said Tuesday it would hold a hearing for controversial Likud lawmaker Oren Hazan before deciding whether to press charges in an assault case dating back some two years, prior to his election to the Knesset.“Before deciding to press charges, the suspect has been summoned for a hearing,” a statement from the courts said. Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein will then decide whether to indict Hazan.Hazan is suspected of assaulting a senior official in the municipality of the West Bank town of Ariel in 2014 in an apparent dispute over a debt. After the city froze his bank account, Hazan went to the office, where he cursed and pushed the municipal director, the statement said.Each side filed a complaint against the other, but after Hazan won a Knesset seat in the March 2015 elections, the case was transferred from the Samaria police department to the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit, and police required approval by Weinstein to proceed with the investigation.Weinstein gave police the go-ahead in June 2015 after a series of allegations were made against Hazan over his behavior before he entered the Knesset. In June 2015, a number of women told the Israeli media that Hazan sexually harassed them when they worked for him at a bar several years earlier.In September 2015, police said that an investigation found there was “evidential basis” supporting allegations that Hazan had assaulted a civil servant and conducted a misdemeanor in a public space.Hazan vehemently denied the allegations, which he claimed were baseless.“I have no doubt in my heart that when the case reaches the attorney general… he will order it to be shelved for lack of guilt,” Hazan wrote on his Facebook page at the time.“This [assault] case — in which I made the first complaint — is built on a foundation of lies and political rivalry. I believe that judicial officials will not drag this out into a media carnival and a campaign of incitement against me,” he continued.Hazan has become known as the enfant terrible of Israel’s parliament.Last week he had his driver’s license suspended for traveling at a speed of over 140 kilometers per hour (over 87 mph) on Route 90, where the limit is 90 kilometers per hour (56 mph).In October, a Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court judge said Hazan had used hard drugs while serving as a casino manager in Bulgaria before being elected to the Knesset, rejecting the bulk of a libel lawsuit brought by Hazan against a reporter from Channel 2 news.Judge Azaria Alcalay ruled that a June 2015 investigative report claiming Hazan had hired prostitutes for his friends and used hard drugs while managing a Burgas casino in 2013 amounted to “responsible, serious journalism and reflected the reality as it was.”Hazan had sought NIS 1 million (some $260,000) in damages from Channel 2 reporter Amit Segal, claiming the allegations were false and constituted libel.In his ruling, Alcalay said that evidence brought before the court by two witnesses, named in the ruling as Eviatar and Avi, proved that Hazan had indeed taken crystal meth. He said that it could not be proved that Hazan provided prostitutes to friends or customers of the casino but that he was convinced Segal had sufficient evidence to be protected under freedom of the press.In December, the Knesset Ethics Committee also suspended Hazan from participating in parliamentary debates for a month, due to a series of complaints against him.In February, Hazan was again suspended from the committee hearings, this time by his own Likud party after he skipped a plenum vote resulting in a loss for the party.And a 2015 state comptroller report on party spending during primary campaigns said Hazan failed to report his expenditure and accused him of lying in an affidavit declaring his expenses, a crime that can carry up to a three-year custodial sentence.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Iranian archaeologist uncovers what may be world’s oldest rock etchings-Technology made available with sanctions relief could shed new light on engravings previously seen by just handful of people-By Eric RANDOLPH December 12, 2016, 1:21 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
KHOMEIN, Iran (AFP) — An Iranian archaeologist has spent years in an almost single-handed quest across the country’s hills and desert plains to uncover ancient rock art that could be among the oldest in the world.Now he hopes that renewed ties with the West after years of international isolation could help decipher its mysteries.Despite its rough beauty, it is hard to imagine that the desolate, rock-strewn landscape outside the town of Khomein in central Iran conceals any treasures.But Dr Mohammed Naserifard scrambles up a hillside, and waits eagerly at the top, his walking stick pointing out the long curled horns of a 4,000-year-old ibex deer scratched into a flat stone.Over the next few hours, he leads AFP on a journey through valleys and up steep slopes, revealing dozens more images of ancient hunters, tribal dances, deities and beasts.Despite their potential world-historical importance, they have been seen by just a handful of people.All are thousands of years old, but some of the markings — such as a line of cup-marks that may have been used in religious ceremonies — could be much older.Dutch enthusiasts who visited the area with Naserifard in 2008 dated the cup marks to more than 40,000 years ago, putting them among the oldest rock art on the planet.But getting definitive data has been all but impossible for Iranian archaeologists.“Sanctions have deprived us of the technology,” Naserifard told AFP.“We hope with the situation improving now, we can soon bring this technology to Iran and gain more accurate and scientific information on these engravings.”-‘Finding a treasure’-The sanctions imposed by world powers prior to last year’s nuclear deal meant Iranian scientists were cut off from their global colleagues, deprived of modern lab equipment and the latest research, and faced severe funding shortages.Added to that was the fact that rock art has never been a priority in Iran, where pre-Islamic history can be a controversial subject.It has been left instead to Naserifard’s personal determination.Having read about the subject in a German magazine, he hunted everywhere for examples.Then one day in 2002, in the hills outside Khomein, he got lucky.“We were on a picnic and all my friends were taking an afternoon nap. I went wandering and observing the rocks in the valley and I found a rock full of shapes,” he recalled.“I was so excited! Finding these works was like finding a treasure.”He estimates he has since travelled more than 700,000 kilometres (450,000 miles) across two dozen Iranian provinces, unearthing some 50,000 ancient paintings and engravings.Naserifard now teaches at a local university, and his discoveries have been catalogued by the Bradshaw Foundation, a Swiss NGO specialising in rock art, bringing them international attention.“His work is really important — there have been these blank spots on the map that we are finally starting to fill in,” said Genevieve von Petzinger, a Canadian cave art expert and author of “The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols”.The engravings could even date back to when humans made their first forays out of Africa, she said.-‘Eerie similarities’-Naserifard’s discoveries support the growing evidence that humans may have started to develop a common art tradition before leaving Africa, which might explain why the same themes and shapes have turned up in sites as far-flung as California, Spain and South Africa.“Iran could be a really important part of the puzzle. It is a very strategic location — humans migrated through there heading both east and west,” said von Petzinger.New methods such as uranium dating — which enables scientists to date samples even older than is possible with carbon dating — are now needed in Iran, along with broader archaeological work to put the findings in context.“These new methods are very expensive,” said von Petzinger. “Dr Naserifard has done all this diligent work, but he needs access to the big labs. Hopefully, people can now come to help him.”The Khomein hills are typical of rock art locations around the world — a once-fertile riverside spot that supported sizeable settlements.As in other places around the world, the artists were fixated by a single image: in Iran, pictures of the ibex deer account for more than 90 percent of the ancient engravings catalogued by Naserifard.The Kozo hunters of South Africa obsessively drew and redrew a big-horned sheep that looks surprisingly similar.“We don’t know why they picked a favourite motif and ran with it, but we see the same pattern in very different places,” said Peter Robinson of the Bradshaw Foundation.He said the ibex may have been part of an origin myth, or perhaps the engravings were an attempt to summon magical hunting powers or encourage the deer to multiply.“The similarities across time and space can be eerie. We see examples in which Ice Age art didn’t vary across 30,000 years,” said Robinson.“But one thing that seems clear is this innate human characteristic to want to mark a wall, to graffiti.”
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
New French ambassador: Paris peace summit won’t have fresh ideas-Presenting credentials, Hélène Le Gal says conference rejected by Israel aims to ensure peace process with Palestinians doesn’t fall by wayside-By Raphael Ahren December 12, 2016, 11:16 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The international peace conference to be held in Paris later this month will not contain any novel ideas on how to solve the Middle East conflict but is mainly intended to prevent the issue from disappearing amid other global crises, France’s new envoy to Israel said Monday.“What we propose is nothing new but [we are] trying to keep the subject on the agenda and not letting it down because there are other crises in the world,” Ambassador Hélène Le Gal said. “We continue to propose things and it’s always in a very good spirit toward Israel.”As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, France is “always keen to propose” solutions to various conflicts across the globe, Le Gal told President Reuven Rivlin after she handed him her letter of credence, officially taking up her post.Rivlin welcomed the new ambassador and hailed the country’s longstanding support for Israel, but at the same time made plain Jerusalem’s misgivings about the Paris peace summit, scheduled for December 21.Israel has said it will not attend the summit, preferring direct talks instead, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu going so far last week as to offer to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for negotiations in Paris if French President Francois Hollande cancels the confab.Rivlin said there was little danger of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict falling off the world’s agenda, though he admitted it was important to keep some issues front and center.“Unfortunately everyone knows that in the Middle East there are no shortcuts. You have to build confidence,” Rivlin said. “The only way to get to an understanding with our cousins, with our neighbors, with our partners — the Palestinians — for being here in this very tiny piece of earth we are sitting on, is only by direct negotiations and the understanding that we have to accept them and they have to accept us.”Rivlin added that Jerusalem is ready for direct negotiations without preconditions but peace remains remote due to Palestinian recalcitrance.“Unfortunately most of the Palestinians still reject, from a national and a religious point of view, the existence of a Jewish state of Israel,” he said. “It is needed to explain to them that we are here as a fact. We are already half of the Jewish people here in Israel; more than six and half million Jews live in Israel, and they have to realize we are here.”“There is no other way but to live together and try to reach for a better future that will bring prosperity to everyone,” he added.Le Gal, a soft-spoken career diplomat close to President Francois Hollande, was first posted in Israel two decades ago and is considered a friend of Israel.“For me, to come back is really like coming home in a way, it’s a pleasure,” she said.The first woman to hold the post, Le Gal replaces Patrick Maisonnave, who held the position since 2013.The French have been pushing an initiative aimed at revitalizing the moribund peace process between Palestinian and Israelis. While the Palestinians have welcomed the initiative, Israel has remained critical of the plan, arguing that only bilateral negotiations can prove successful.Since a peace summit in June in Paris officially kicked off the French initiative, three groups have been tasked with examining avenues to propel the peace process forward, according to a report in French newspaper Le Monde last week.One group has looked at building the institutions needed for the establishment of a Palestinian state; another has studied the economic incentives peace would bring for those involved, in particular for the European Union; while a third group worked on enhancing the participation of civil society in the process.The proposals of the three groups will be examined during the summit, the report said.Paris is also reportedly examining different avenues for conveying the findings to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, either on the sidelines of the December summit or by sending representatives to Ramallah and Jerusalem.Dov Lieber contributed to this report.
PA ministers secretly hope there won’t be Palestinian state, deputy minister claims-Ayoub Kara, in charge of strengthening Israel’s connections with regional neighbors, calls Jewish state a ‘paradise’ for Arabs-By Dov Lieber December 11, 2016, 11:29 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
There are ministers in the Palestinian Authority secretly hoping that a Palestinian state won’t be established, Deputy Minister of Regional Cooperation Ayoub Kara said on Sunday night.“I sit with ministers in the Palestinian Authority, and they are pleading that there won’t be a Palestinian state,” Kara, who leads Israel’s diplomatic efforts to strengthen relations with its regional neighbors, claimed. He did not specify which ministers he spoke with.There are currently no Palestinian Authority ministers on record who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state.The deputy minister’s statements came during the annual “Zionist Conference for Human Rights,” organized by the right-wing organization, Im Tirtzu, which battles what it sees as delegitimization of Israel.During this year’s conference, the fourth in the group’s history, Im Tirtzu aimed to highlight Israel’s “integration of minorities,” meaning the mostly Arabic-speaking non-Jewish community, who comprise around 20 percent of Israel’s population.Kara, who is a Druze citizen of Israel and a long-time member of the ruling Likud party, maintained “Israel is a paradise, without the 72 virgins, for all Arabs in Israel — and even in the Palestinian Authority,” to the applause and laughter of the around 200 people in attendance.“In no other place in the Middle East are minorities growing,” Kara said.The deputy minister also heaped praise on to one of the conference’s main guests, Father Gabriel Naddaf, who in recent years has campaigned for Christians in Israel to join the Israeli army.Christians in Israel make up just 2 percent of the population.Regardless of religion, for Israeli Arabs — who are exempted by law from military service — deciding to join the IDF is very much a taboo.“The Jewish State will [continue] to exist only if we defend it together,” said Naddaf Sunday night to much applause.Naddaf concluded his remarks by reading a letter from a Christian girl from the Arab-Israeli town of Nazareth who wanted to enlist in the army.“If they claim that Israel is an occupier, than its occupation in contrast to other occupations is paradise. And just like they attack it, I will fight for [Israel’s] sake, because I would like that the land of our forefathers will once again be liberated from the real occupiers,” Naddaf said the girl had written.Naddaf, who was one of the ceremonial torch-lighters at the state’s Independence Day ceremony in Jerusalem this past May, was recently accused of sexually harassing young people he helped enlist in the military.The priest has dismissed the claims as an “evil plot” by jealous enemies. “God will punish these people for harming me, my wife and my two sons who are serving now in the military,” Naddaf wrote on Facebook when the allegations surfaced.The Im Tirtzu conference centered around the screening of “My Home,” a documentary the group says explores the strong connection of the “silent Arab minority” to the State of Israel.The documentary features Kara and Naddaf, as well as two others who spoke at Sunday’s conference, Mohammad Kabiya, a Muslim-Bedouin who served in the IDF, and Jonathan Elkhoury, a Lebanese Christian who immigrated to Israel in 2000 after Israel allowed members of the South Lebanese Army to seek refuge in the Jewish state following Jerusalem’s decision to leave southern Lebanon.In the documentary, the speakers’ affinity towards Israel is contrasted with opposition to Israeli policies by Arab-Israel lawmakers, especially Joint (Arab) List members Hanin Zoabi and Ahmad Tibi.The Im Tirtzu conference did not feature any non-Bedouin Muslim Arab—the community that makes up the majority of Israel’s Arabic-speaking population.AP contributed to this report.
Iran to build nuclear-powered ships after US ‘breaches’ atomic deal-Rouhani slams Congress for expected renewal of sanctions, says Tehran will complain to international committee overseeing accord-By AFP December 13, 2016, 4:30 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
TEHRAN — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday ordered the country’s scientists to start work on nuclear-powered ships in response to the expected renewal of sanctions by the United States.In letters read out on state television, Rouhani criticized the US move as a breach of last year’s nuclear accord and told Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation to start work on “planning the design and production of nuclear fuel and reactors for maritime transport.”The president said he had also ordered the foreign ministry to prepare a legal complaint to the international committee that oversees the nuclear accord.Under the deal signed in July 2015, world powers agreed to lift international sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran’s nuclear program.But US lawmakers recently voted to renew 10-year-old sanctions legislation against Iran related not just to nuclear issues, but also ballistic missile-testing and human rights.US President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law in the coming days, saying it makes no difference to last year’s agreement because the White House will continue to suspend all the sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program.Iranian lawmakers had raised the prospect of building nuclear-powered ships and submarines back in 2012 at the height of tensions with the international community over the nuclear program.International analysts said the announcement was likely just a bluff, since it would be an extremely costly effort for little strategic gain.Then nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said that Iran had the capacity to design nuclear reactors for ships but no plans to do so.He also said that nuclear-powered ships did not require the sort of highly enriched uranium which could also be used for weapons.-Agreement wording ambiguous-Iran has always insisted that its nuclear program was entirely peaceful, but hoped an end to sanctions would help revive its battered economy.Although it has seen a significant boost in oil sales since the deal came into force in January, its hopes of attracting large-scale foreign investment have been thwarted by continuing US sanctions in other areas.The biggest problem lies with world banks, which are needed to finance the bigger trade deals but remain wary of returning to Iran, fearing they could be fined by Washington.The Iran Sanctions Act passed the US Senate 99-0 earlier this month after easily clearing the House of Representatives in November.The language in the nuclear agreement makes it unclear whether renewing the sanctions — and keeping the nuclear ones suspended — amounts to a violation.At a press conference last week, conservative parliament speaker Ali Larijani said parts of the deal were “rushed.”“Some of the sections of the JCPOA should have been written with more precision to stop differing interpretations,” Larijani said.Rouhani, who is expected to run for a second term in May, has faced a barrage of criticism from conservatives who say his team made too many concessions for minimal economic gain.In a speech last week, he emphasized that his team had not acted alone and that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was closely involved at every stage of the negotiations.“We took no step on the JCPOA issue without consulting the honorable leader,” Rouhani said.
Iran: If US imposes war, Israel, Gulf states will be destroyed-Iranian defense minister says Mideast worried about conflict risks with Trump, amid president-elect’s vow to dismantle ‘disastrous’ nuclear deal-By Times of Israel staff and Agencies December 12, 2016, 3:45 am
The election of Donald Trump has led to unease in the Middle East over threats to peace in the region and any war would lead to the destruction of Israel and the Gulf states, Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan warned Sunday.His remarks came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Sunday that he would work with Trump to dismantle the nuclear agreement with Iran, signed last year over Israel’s fierce criticism of the pact.Trump said during the campaign he would tear up the nuclear deal, calling it a “disastrous” and one of the worst agreements in history and has vowed to take a harder line with Tehran.This has led to concern among the Iranians and in the wider region, Dehghan indicated.“Even though a businessman, the assistants that … (Trump) has chosen may map a different path for him, and this has led to unease, particularly among Persian Gulf countries,” Dehghan said at a security conference in Tehran, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.“Considering Trump’s character and that he measures the cost of everything in dollars, it does not seem likely that he would take strong action against our country,” he said, but “enemies may want to impose a war on us based on false calculations and only taking into consideration their material capabilities.”“Such a war would mean the destruction of the Zionist regime (Israel) … and will engulf the whole region and could lead to a world war,” Mehr quoted Dehghan as saying.Iran has long backed armed groups committed to Israel’s destruction and its leaders have called for it to be wiped off the map. Israel fears that Iran’s nuclear program is designed to threaten its existence.“Among other consequences of the war,” Dehgan added, “would be the destruction of the city-states on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, because they lack popular support,” in reference to small Western-allied Gulf states such as the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.In a wide-ranging interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, Netanyahu said it was not too late to undo the nuclear deal that was the landmark foreign policy achievement of President Barack Obama, noting that he would present Trump with five alternatives to the accord, without elaborating, However, his pick for Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, is opposed to rescinding the accord.
Punishable offenses: Shabbat desecration, immodest dress, making speeches or singing without permission-Jail women for shofar-blowing? That’s what Shas’s Western Wall bill says-Mixed-gender prayer at Robinson’s Arch would lead to 6 months in jail or hefty fine; incendiary legislation is unlikely to pass, though Shas chief warns struggle against Reform is ‘uncompromising’-By Marissa Newman December 13, 2016, 6:01 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
It’s a blazing Saturday in mid-August as members of an Evangelical Christian family from Kentucky make their way toward the Western Wall. On this visit to the holy site, their third, they’ve decided to skip the segregated plaza in favor of the more intimate Robinson’s Arch, because Mom has insisted they pray “as a family.”Following their prayers, the family sits down and sets up a picnic as the 10-year-old son runs around wildly with the family dog, who has accompanied them on their trip. Mom, moved by the experience, whips out the guitar she’s insisted on carrying everywhere and begins to sing. Rolling her eyes, the family’s teenage daughter — dressed in a tank top and shorts on this scorching summer day — pulls out her cellphone to craft the perfect selfie. Meanwhile, Dad, fed up with just a little too much family time, meanders over to the general plaza. Tucked away in the men’s section, far from his wife’s eyes, he surreptitiously pulls out a cigarette and lights up, savoring the brief respite.We hope you’re enjoying your family vacation, fictional US visitors. Because, in a world in which proposed legislation spearheaded by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party becomes law, you would all be going to prison.Unless, that is, you can cough up the NIS 70,000 in fines (approx. $18,500) for the seven offenses you’ve committed.Lawmakers from Shas and United Torah Judaism, as well as Likud’s Oren Hazan, Dudi Amsalem and Miki Zohar and Jewish Home’s Betzalel Smotrich, Moti Yogev, and Nissan Slomianksy, have endorsed the proposed legislation, officially lodged on Sunday, that would anchor Orthodox practice in law in the entire Western Wall vicinity.The proposal would impose a ban on a slew of practices, including mixed-gender prayer, on Robinson’s Arch, where the government has pledged to build a prayer plaza for Reform and Conservative Jews. The construction of the egalitarian plaza has been put on ice since it was announced in January, reportedly due to pressure from the Haredi political parties.“Those who know me know that I am against imposing religious laws,” Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who is the leader of the Shas party, said last Tuesday. “I once said that if there was a law in Israel for circumcision, we would see many fewer Jews performing the commandment.” At the same time, addressing the Western Wall proposed law, he added: “You must know that any recognition or compromise with the Reform means a recognition of their way as a ‘stream in Judaism.’ Our struggle against them is uncompromising. They bring assimilation and destruction.”Despite the long line-up of coalition MKs endorsing the bill and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need to placate his coalition partners, the legislation is unlikely to make headway, as stirrings of opposition emerge from the coalition Kulanu party. Moreover, the Haredi parties, in their coalition agreements, have signed on a provision that says the coalition will torpedo any legislation that changes the existing religious status quo.While debates will likely rage over whether this is a change in the status quo, since Orthodox practice largely governs the site, penalizing men and women praying together at Robinson’s Arch would undoubtedly mark a departure from the existing arrangements.-What the law says-The proposal defines the “Western Wall” as the area from its southernmost tip to Dung Gate, “including Robinson’s Arch,” and any structure — above and below ground — that falls within this demarcation.The religious “local custom” permitted at the site will be dictated by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, it stipulates.Throughout this space, the following behavior will be met with six months’ imprisonment or a NIS 10,000 fine: • Mixed-gender prayer services, or attempts by men or women to cross the partition dividing the sexes in the plaza. Eating, drinking, or sleeping in areas that are not designated for these actions. • Any desecration of Shabbat, based on Orthodox practice (the legislation does not distinguish between Jewish and non-Jewish visitors in this respect or any other). In addition, “holding a ceremony, including a religious ceremony, that is not based on local practice, and which offends the community of worshipers at the site.” • Wearing “clothing that is not appropriate for the holiness of the site” — though specifics are not provided — and offering any religious service without the explicit permission of the authorities governing the Western Wall. • Setting up any sort of shops or stalls in the area or distributing fliers or promotional content. Playing musical instruments and singing without the permission of the authorities, making a speech or declaration of any kind, smoking in the existing Western Wall plaza, animal slaughter or bringing animals into the area without approval. • Within the women’s section in the existing plaza, “any ceremony that includes taking out a Torah scroll, reading from it, blowing a shofar, wearing a tallit or tefillin.”Moreover, the legislation states that professional photographers will need permission to take photos at the site, though it does not appear to be a punishable offense. And it enshrines the partition separating men and women worshipers in law.The lawmakers behind the bill have described it as an effort to “regulate” the site, comparing it to the Jewish Home’s ongoing effort to legalize 4,000 housing units in outposts and settlement construction built on privately owned Palestinian land as part of its “Regulation Bill.”“We saw last month, when a coalition faction fights for its principles until the end — it is successful,” Deri told the Kikar HaShabat website, referring to the Regulation Bill. “Is the fate of Amona more important that the fate of the Western Wall? The Western Wall hasn’t been regulated since it was liberated [in 1967, during the Six Day War].”The Western Wall: The existing arrangements-Western Wall regulations dictate that women cannot wear a tallit, or prayer shawl, in the same manner as men, as it contravenes the “local custom” determined by the Wall’s chief rabbi. In 2003, the High Court of Justice upheld a government ban on women wearing tefillin (phylacteries) or tallit, or reading from a Torah scroll at the Western Wall plaza. That same court decision demanded the government build an egalitarian section at Robinson’s Arch.In 2013, a Jerusalem court reinterpreted the High Court decision as a recommendation rather than a legal order, thus permitting women to don tefillin and prayer shawls at the Western Wall. That move was lauded by groups such as the Women of the Wall, who seek pluralistic prayer at the holy site. Since then, there have been periodic scuffles between Orthodox and non-Orthodox worshipers at the site, and some arrests of Women of the Wall activists for smuggling a Torah into the women’s section which is banned under the Western Wall guidelines.In January, Netanyahu announced the mixed-gender section would be built at Robinson’s Arch in a decision lauded by world Jewry. But within days of its jubilant announcement, the cabinet decision drew the ire of the ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu’s tenuous coalition and its implementation has been on ice ever since. In September, the High Court of Justice reportedly rebuked the government for the stalemate in building the new plaza.While the construction of the site has been stalled and Netanyahu has asked Reform and Conservative Jews to keep silent on the issue, it is difficult to imagine that the prime minister, who approved the compromise less than a year ago, would now do a dramatic u-turn and ban mixed gender prayer altogether, thumbing his nose at the bulk of American Jewry.“I hope that the prime minster will come out against this bill,” Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Michael Oren told The Times of Israel on Tuesday. “I will press upon him my position. I mean, who understands the Diaspora-Israel relationship and the importance of American Jewish support better than him?”“This bill makes a mockery of all the efforts made by recent governments to ensure that the Western Wall is a place that unites, rather than divides, the Jewish people,” said Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, who negotiated the Robinson’s Arch compromise, in a statement. “This bill’s passage would have grave consequences for the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. Based on the Prime Minister’s strong personal commitment to strengthening the Israel-Diaspora relationship, it is my fervent hope that this damaging bill will be summarily dismissed by a majority of the coalition and of the Knesset.”In the event that the legislation goes ahead, Liberal groups will likely petition the High Court of Justice, which has in the past ruled that the government must support non-Orthodox prayer at the Arch.-Coalition trouble-The bill will also likely face opposition from within the coalition.A Kulanu party spokesperson said the party had not yet formulated its stance on the bill, as it was only submitted to the Knesset several days ago. However, two prominent lawmakers from the party, Oren and MK Rachel Azaria, on Monday lashed out at the proposal as a “fatal blow to the relations between the State of Israel and Jewish communities abroad.” Oren said the issue had come up in the Kulanu faction on Monday, where he and Azaria outlined their opposition.“We will not allow Knesset members to sacrifice the relationship between Israel and world Jewry in a caprice stemming from a desire to control the Western Wall and bar every Jewish man and woman from praying in accordance with their custom,” the two said in a joint statement, adding that it would be a “blatant violation of the status quo” at the site.Moreover, in their binding coalition agreements, both Shas and United Torah Judaism have signed off on a clause that would see the coalition oppose any legislation that changes the religious status quo. This condition was likely sought by the Haredi parties, fearing the easing of restrictions on matters such as the Sabbath, conversions, and personal status. But it would also seemingly apply to attempts to impose fresh legal restrictions at the Western Wall.“The status quo on matters of religion and state will be upheld as was customary in Israel for decades,” the agreements say. “No private legislation which changes the status quo on matters of religion and state will be advanced or approved with the exception of what is detailed in this agreement. [For] any legislation submitted in opposition to what is stated here, all the coalition factions will vote against it and coalition discipline will be enforced to remove it from the agenda in the Knesset committees and plenum.”The Yisrael Beytenu coalition agreement also gives veto power to every coalition party on matters of religion and state, noting that no legislation on these issues will be advanced without the unanimous support of all parties. A Yisrael Beytenu spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment on the Western Wall proposal.Raoul Wootlif and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Likud’s bad boy MK Oren Hazan facing assault charges-Lawmaker denies he attacked Ariel mayor in 2014, says case ‘built on foundation of lies and political rivalry’-By Raoul Wootliff December 13, 2016, 4:58 pm-the times of israel
The attorney general’s office said Tuesday it would hold a hearing for controversial Likud lawmaker Oren Hazan before deciding whether to press charges in an assault case dating back some two years, prior to his election to the Knesset.“Before deciding to press charges, the suspect has been summoned for a hearing,” a statement from the courts said. Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein will then decide whether to indict Hazan.Hazan is suspected of assaulting a senior official in the municipality of the West Bank town of Ariel in 2014 in an apparent dispute over a debt. After the city froze his bank account, Hazan went to the office, where he cursed and pushed the municipal director, the statement said.Each side filed a complaint against the other, but after Hazan won a Knesset seat in the March 2015 elections, the case was transferred from the Samaria police department to the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit, and police required approval by Weinstein to proceed with the investigation.Weinstein gave police the go-ahead in June 2015 after a series of allegations were made against Hazan over his behavior before he entered the Knesset. In June 2015, a number of women told the Israeli media that Hazan sexually harassed them when they worked for him at a bar several years earlier.In September 2015, police said that an investigation found there was “evidential basis” supporting allegations that Hazan had assaulted a civil servant and conducted a misdemeanor in a public space.Hazan vehemently denied the allegations, which he claimed were baseless.“I have no doubt in my heart that when the case reaches the attorney general… he will order it to be shelved for lack of guilt,” Hazan wrote on his Facebook page at the time.“This [assault] case — in which I made the first complaint — is built on a foundation of lies and political rivalry. I believe that judicial officials will not drag this out into a media carnival and a campaign of incitement against me,” he continued.Hazan has become known as the enfant terrible of Israel’s parliament.Last week he had his driver’s license suspended for traveling at a speed of over 140 kilometers per hour (over 87 mph) on Route 90, where the limit is 90 kilometers per hour (56 mph).In October, a Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court judge said Hazan had used hard drugs while serving as a casino manager in Bulgaria before being elected to the Knesset, rejecting the bulk of a libel lawsuit brought by Hazan against a reporter from Channel 2 news.Judge Azaria Alcalay ruled that a June 2015 investigative report claiming Hazan had hired prostitutes for his friends and used hard drugs while managing a Burgas casino in 2013 amounted to “responsible, serious journalism and reflected the reality as it was.”Hazan had sought NIS 1 million (some $260,000) in damages from Channel 2 reporter Amit Segal, claiming the allegations were false and constituted libel.In his ruling, Alcalay said that evidence brought before the court by two witnesses, named in the ruling as Eviatar and Avi, proved that Hazan had indeed taken crystal meth. He said that it could not be proved that Hazan provided prostitutes to friends or customers of the casino but that he was convinced Segal had sufficient evidence to be protected under freedom of the press.In December, the Knesset Ethics Committee also suspended Hazan from participating in parliamentary debates for a month, due to a series of complaints against him.In February, Hazan was again suspended from the committee hearings, this time by his own Likud party after he skipped a plenum vote resulting in a loss for the party.And a 2015 state comptroller report on party spending during primary campaigns said Hazan failed to report his expenditure and accused him of lying in an affidavit declaring his expenses, a crime that can carry up to a three-year custodial sentence.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Iranian archaeologist uncovers what may be world’s oldest rock etchings-Technology made available with sanctions relief could shed new light on engravings previously seen by just handful of people-By Eric RANDOLPH December 12, 2016, 1:21 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
KHOMEIN, Iran (AFP) — An Iranian archaeologist has spent years in an almost single-handed quest across the country’s hills and desert plains to uncover ancient rock art that could be among the oldest in the world.Now he hopes that renewed ties with the West after years of international isolation could help decipher its mysteries.Despite its rough beauty, it is hard to imagine that the desolate, rock-strewn landscape outside the town of Khomein in central Iran conceals any treasures.But Dr Mohammed Naserifard scrambles up a hillside, and waits eagerly at the top, his walking stick pointing out the long curled horns of a 4,000-year-old ibex deer scratched into a flat stone.Over the next few hours, he leads AFP on a journey through valleys and up steep slopes, revealing dozens more images of ancient hunters, tribal dances, deities and beasts.Despite their potential world-historical importance, they have been seen by just a handful of people.All are thousands of years old, but some of the markings — such as a line of cup-marks that may have been used in religious ceremonies — could be much older.Dutch enthusiasts who visited the area with Naserifard in 2008 dated the cup marks to more than 40,000 years ago, putting them among the oldest rock art on the planet.But getting definitive data has been all but impossible for Iranian archaeologists.“Sanctions have deprived us of the technology,” Naserifard told AFP.“We hope with the situation improving now, we can soon bring this technology to Iran and gain more accurate and scientific information on these engravings.”-‘Finding a treasure’-The sanctions imposed by world powers prior to last year’s nuclear deal meant Iranian scientists were cut off from their global colleagues, deprived of modern lab equipment and the latest research, and faced severe funding shortages.Added to that was the fact that rock art has never been a priority in Iran, where pre-Islamic history can be a controversial subject.It has been left instead to Naserifard’s personal determination.Having read about the subject in a German magazine, he hunted everywhere for examples.Then one day in 2002, in the hills outside Khomein, he got lucky.“We were on a picnic and all my friends were taking an afternoon nap. I went wandering and observing the rocks in the valley and I found a rock full of shapes,” he recalled.“I was so excited! Finding these works was like finding a treasure.”He estimates he has since travelled more than 700,000 kilometres (450,000 miles) across two dozen Iranian provinces, unearthing some 50,000 ancient paintings and engravings.Naserifard now teaches at a local university, and his discoveries have been catalogued by the Bradshaw Foundation, a Swiss NGO specialising in rock art, bringing them international attention.“His work is really important — there have been these blank spots on the map that we are finally starting to fill in,” said Genevieve von Petzinger, a Canadian cave art expert and author of “The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols”.The engravings could even date back to when humans made their first forays out of Africa, she said.-‘Eerie similarities’-Naserifard’s discoveries support the growing evidence that humans may have started to develop a common art tradition before leaving Africa, which might explain why the same themes and shapes have turned up in sites as far-flung as California, Spain and South Africa.“Iran could be a really important part of the puzzle. It is a very strategic location — humans migrated through there heading both east and west,” said von Petzinger.New methods such as uranium dating — which enables scientists to date samples even older than is possible with carbon dating — are now needed in Iran, along with broader archaeological work to put the findings in context.“These new methods are very expensive,” said von Petzinger. “Dr Naserifard has done all this diligent work, but he needs access to the big labs. Hopefully, people can now come to help him.”The Khomein hills are typical of rock art locations around the world — a once-fertile riverside spot that supported sizeable settlements.As in other places around the world, the artists were fixated by a single image: in Iran, pictures of the ibex deer account for more than 90 percent of the ancient engravings catalogued by Naserifard.The Kozo hunters of South Africa obsessively drew and redrew a big-horned sheep that looks surprisingly similar.“We don’t know why they picked a favourite motif and ran with it, but we see the same pattern in very different places,” said Peter Robinson of the Bradshaw Foundation.He said the ibex may have been part of an origin myth, or perhaps the engravings were an attempt to summon magical hunting powers or encourage the deer to multiply.“The similarities across time and space can be eerie. We see examples in which Ice Age art didn’t vary across 30,000 years,” said Robinson.“But one thing that seems clear is this innate human characteristic to want to mark a wall, to graffiti.”
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