Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Voting for Terrorist Release ‘with a Heavy Heart’
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Chana Ya'ar
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

 At least two Ministers say they will vote with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to free 104 Arab terrorist prisoners with Jewish blood on their hands to talk with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.    

In advance of the resumption of direct final status talks between Israel and the PA,  Netanyahu has agreed to release 104 terrorist murderers who committed their terrorist crimes before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. The number is up from the previously discussed number of 82, to include terrorists who are Israeli citizens. 

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told journalists Sunday morning he would vote “with a heavy heart” in favor of the decision to release the PA Arab terrorists, all of whom have murdered Jews.

However, Ya’alon added a caveat to his support, saying he would not support the release of Israeli Arab terrorists. “Mahmoud Abbas does not represent those,” Ya’alon said. 

Abbas has expressed happiness at the killers’ imminent return to society, telling reporters to expect “joyful news” on Sunday.    

“There is a heavy price to be paid in the decision to release terrorists, in terms of justice, law and deterrence,” Ya’alon noted. “I wish we were not facing this dilemma.”

The defense minister is not the only one to have expressed that thought – or to have made the painful decision to support Netanyahu in his determination to free terrorists serving life sentences for murder.

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz also told his fellow ministers at Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, “I will support the prime minister’s proposal, not because I think it’s a fantastic idea – to say the least – but because I think that in an international view, the Israeli government cannot be seen as one that rejects entering negotiations.

However, Steinitz stood together with Ya’alon in his rejection of freeing Israeli Arab terrorists.

“When a citizen commits terror against the people of his own country, it’s completely different,” he noted.

Revival blessings flow from God's promises
Jul 28th, 2013
Thought For The WeekA.W.Tozer
Categories: Commentary;Exhortation

One characteristic that is largely lacking in the average church today is that of spiritual anticipation.

When Christians meet, they do not expect anything unusual to happen: consequently, only the usual happens, and that usual is as predictable as the setting of the sun.

A psychology of nonexpectation pervades the assembly, a mood of quiet ennui which the minister by various means tries to dispel, the means depending upon the cultural level of the congregation and particularly of the minister.

Christian expectation in the average church follows the program, not the promises. The activities of the saints are laid out for them by those who are supposed to know what they need better than they do. Prevailing spiritual conditions, however low, are accepted as inevitable - what will be is what has been!

The weary slaves of the dull routine find it impossible to hope for anything better.

Today we need a fresh spirit of anticipation that springs out of the promises of God! We must declare war on the mood of nonexpectation, and come together with childlike faith. Only then can we know again the beauty and wonder of the Lord's presence among us.

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say rejoice." Phillipians 4:4

Pm's Open Letter to Citizens: Full Text
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Gil Ronen
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took the rare step Saturday evening of publishing a long missive to the Israeli public. In it, he explains why he has agreed to release 104 terrorists as a "gesture" accompanying "peace talks" with the Palestinian Authority. He also states that the talks need to last at least nine months.

Netanyahu's messages to the public are usually delivered through much shorter communiques, or in interviews. His decision to opt for a relatively long letter may reflect his awareness that the Israeli public is solidly opposed to the terrorist prisoner release, and is generally fed up and cynical about “peace talks” that have been going nowhere for 20 years. 

This is the text of the letter:

"Prime ministers are occasionally required to make decisions that are contrary to public opinion, when the matter is one of importance to the state.

"There is no need for prime ministers, in order to make decisions that enjoy the support of public opinion.

"At this time, I believe it is very important for the state of Israel to enter a diplomatic process. This is important for fully exhausting the chances for ending the conflict with the Palestinians, and also for solidifying Israel's status in the complex international reality that surrounds us.

"The huge changes in our region – in Egypt, Syria and Iran – pose new challenges before the state of Israel, but they also present considerable opportunities before us.

"For these reasons, I believe that it is important that Israel enter a diplomatic process that will last at least nine months – in order to examine if an agreement can be reached with the Palestinians within that time.

"But with all the importance that I attach to a diplomatic process, I was not willing to accept the Palestinian demands for retreats and [building] freezes as preconditions for entering into negotiations.

"I was also unwilling to accept their demand to release Palestinian prisoners before the negotiations begin. I did agree to release 104 Palestinians in measured portions after the beginning of the negotiation and in accordance with its progress.

"This is a tremendously difficult decision to make. It hurts the bereaved families, it hurts the entire nation of Israel and it hurts me very much.

"It collides with an exceedingly important value – the value of justice.

"It is a clear injustice when evil people are released before the end of their sentences, even if an absolute majority among them have served over 20 years in jail.

"The decision is doubly personally difficult for me, because I and my family know personally the price of bereavement from terror. I know the pain well. I have felt it on a daily basis for the past 37 years.

"The fact that Israeli governments that preceded those that I have headed released over 10,000 terrorists, does not make things any easier for me today, and did not make my decision to free Gilad Schalit any easier.

"Bringing Gilad home involved an exceedingly difficult decision for me – the release of terrorists. But I believed that the value of briging our sons home must supersede that difficulty.

"People in positions of leadership must choose between complex options, and sometimes the required decision is particularly difficult when most of the public opposes it.

"Thus, I decided to end Operation Pillar of Defense after archterrorist Ahmed Jaabari was liquidated, and after the harsh blows that Hamas and the terror organizations received at the hands of the IDF.

"I made the decision to end the operation although most of the public backed continuing it – something that would have required a ground offensive into Gaza. As prime minister I thought that the goal of deterrence had been largely achieved by the determined actions we took.

"Today, about a year after Operation Pillar of Defense, we are witnessing the most quiet situation in the south in over a decade. Of course, this quiet can fall apart at any moment, but my policy is a clear one on all fronts: as far as possible, we prevent threats in advance, and we respond with force to any attempt to hurt our civilians.

"In the next nine months we will examine if the Palestinian element that faces us wants to truly end the conflict between us, as we do.

"This end will only be possible if the security of the citizens of Israel is assured, along with our vital national interests.

"If we reach a peace arrangement of this nature, I will bring it to a public referendum.

"A crucial decision like this must not be made on the cusp of a few votes in the Knesset. Every citizen must be allowed to directly influence our future in such a central question.

"The best response that we give to those base murderers who wanted to defeat us through terror is that in the course of the dozens of years when they sat in jail, we have built a wonderful country and turned it into one of the world's most prosperous, advanced and powerful countries.

"I promise that we will continue to do so.

"Yours, Binyamin Netanyahu."

Obama Judicial Nominee Calls Abstinence Education ‘Unconstitutional’
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily Newscnsnews.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;Moral Decline

The Senate will consider the nomination of Cornelia Pillard, a vocal abortion advocate who said abstinence education was unconstitutional for violating “reproductive justice,” to serve as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a hearing Wednesday.

“The equal protection critique of abstinence-only curricula is strengthened and rendered more amenable to judicial resolution by the fact that sex education classes are designed not only to expose students to ideas, but also to shape student behavior,” Pillard, a Georgetown University Law professor, wrote in a 2007 article titled “Our Other Reproductive Choices: Equality in Sex Education, Contraceptive Access and Work Family Policy” in a faculty publication.

“Obligatory education permeated with discriminatory content alone raises serious constitutional concerns,” the article continued. “But the conduct shaping purpose of sex education curricula makes them vulnerable to equal protection challenge even if communicating retrogressive sex roles in traditional academic classes might not be.”

Pillard’s 2007 assessment reflects both a radical ideology and disregard of basic factual information, said Valerie Huber, president of the National Abstinence Education Association, which is urging the Senate to reject the nomination.

“There are politically liberal nominees, but this is beyond that,” Huber told CNSNews.com. “She is so extreme that when I was reading this I had to remind myself this was a real person that actually believes the words I’m reading. She believes abstinence education should be a criminal activity.”

Pillard is one of three nominations President Barack Obama announced in a Rose Garden speech on June 4.

Editors Note.....Judge Pillard would evidently criminalize the Ten Commandments.

Obama Celebrates Ramadan: ‘Islam Has Contributed to the Character’ of U.S.
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily NewsThe Hill
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

In remarks before the Iftar dinner, eaten by Muslims after sunset to end the day of fasting, Obama quoted from the Koran, according to a White House pool report. “As the Koran teaches, whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see its results.”

“Muslim-Americans and their good works have helped to build our nation, and we’ve seen the results,” he added.

Obama, who has hosted five Iftar dinners, focused on entrepreneurship during much of his speech.

“Every day, Muslim-Americans are helping to shape the way that we think and the way that we work and the way that we do business,” he said. “And that’s the spirit that we celebrate tonight — the dreamers, the creators whose ideas are pioneering new industries, creating new jobs and unleashing new opportunities for all of us.”

Editors note.....At the same time Obama is working to remove Christianity from the US military and the US education system.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

America urges Egypt to 'take a step back from the brink'
John Kerry, the secretary of state, spoke with two senior members of Egypt's new military-installed cabinet, expressing his deep concern over the recent violence. "This is a pivotal moment for Egypt," he said in a statement issued after their conversation. "The United States calls on all of Egypt's leaders...to act immediately to help their country take a step back from the brink."  

4 in 5 in US face near-poverty, no work
Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream. Survey data exclusive to The Associated Press points to an increasingly globalized U.S. economy, the widening gap between rich and poor and loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs as reasons for the trend.  

Reports: Israel attacked Syrian weapons convoy
Another Israeli strike in Syria? Arab media outlets reported Israeli Air Force activity in the Beqaa Valley in east Lebanon and in the Golan Heights on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Military Revolutionary Council in Golan Quneitra, a rebel group, claimed that aircraft also bombed a missile convoy making its way to Lebanon from Syria. The reports could not be confirmed by any Western source.  

Israel to vote on freeing Palestinian prisoners
In April 1993, Omar Masoud and three accomplices broke into a European aid office in Gaza City, grabbed a young Israeli lawyer working there and stabbed him to death. Israel arrested Masoud a month later and sentenced him to life, meaning he was doomed to die in prison one day for killing the lawyer in the name of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small PLO faction. Now Masoud, along with dozens of other long-term Palestinian prisoners, is up for release as part of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks after five years of diplomatic paralysis  

Syria says rebels killed 123 people in north, majority civilians
Syrian state media accused insurgents on Saturday of killing 123 people, the majority of them civilians, during a rebel offensive this week to take the northern town of Khan al-Assad.  

Egypt turmoil: Morsi supporters defy removal threats
Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi have defied threats of removal from their sit-in protest in Cairo, despite the deaths of dozens in clashes with security forces. Speakers from the pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood addressed protesters overnight, saying they would not back down from their demands. They want Mr Morsi - removed from power by the army on 3 July - reinstated. But the interior minister has warned them they will "soon" be dispersed.  

More than 1000 inmates escape from Libyan jail
About 1,200 inmates have escaped from a jail in the restive Libyan city of Benghazi. A security official told the AP news agency that most of the escapees were facing serious charges. Another report said a riot had taken place inside the al-Kwafiya prison. The jailbreak comes a day after the assassination of a prominent political activist triggered protests in the city, although it is not clear whether the two are connected.  

Israel to approve prisoner deal in push to revive Palestinian talks
Israel was expected on Sunday to approve releasing more than 100 Arab prisoners as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week.  

Police clash with protesters in Tunisia's Sidi Bouzid
Tunisian police fired teargas late on Saturday to disperse violent protests in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid, cradle of the country's revolution and hometown of slain secular opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi, witnesses said.  

North Korea rolls out missiles for war anniversary
North Korea marked the 60th anniversary of the truce that ended the Korean War with a lavish and painstakingly choreographed military parade through Pyongyang's main square, a solemn gathering led by leader Kim Jong Un at a newly opened war museum that features prominently the USS Pueblo spy ship captured in 1968 and a fireworks display that filled the night sky and drew huge crowds who watched from along the Pothong river. 

Kerry Builds a U.S. - Arab Superstructure to Direct Israel-palestinian Talks - White House Reservations
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s willingness to “do everything” to avoid giving the Palestinians a pretext for not turning up for their first encounter with Israeli negotiators in Washington Tuesday, July 30, bodes ill for Israel’s bargaining position right from the start. So too does his proposal to include jailed Israeli Arabs among the 104 Palestinian prisoners to be released. Several threats from Ramallah not to make the Tuesday date had their effect.
Netanyahu sent an open letter to the Israeli people Saturday night, July 27, explaining his “incredibly difficult decision” to free the 104 prisoners as a gesture ahead of the renewal of peace talks. “Sometimes prime ministers are forced to make decisions that go against public opinion – when the issue is important to the country,” he wrote.
That letter arouses less sympathy than concern. It confirms the impression that the Palestinians only have to threaten to walk out of the negotiations in order to extort concessions from Israel, in the knowledge that US Secretary of State John Kerry or his “special envoys” will move in fast to save the process.

If so, how far will Netanyahu go when the substantive talks begin?  By including Israeli Arabs in the prisoner deal, is he saying that the Israeli Arab population is part of a future deal with the Palestinians and their regions are on the table for potential land swaps? 

If so, he is handing out freebies far too early in the game.
Because, according to debkafile’s sources, the Tuesday meeting in Washington is just a preliminary step to prepare the procedures and modalities for the process. That is all Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and the prime minister’s political adviser Yitzhak Molcho, for Israel, and Yasser Abd Rabbo for the Palestinians will be asked to do in Washington.
For now, the terms of reference for the negotiations have yet to be determined and President Barack Obama has yet to sign the formal letters of assurance promised to Netanyahu and the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
There are reasons for this delay. Secretary Kerry wants to be certain that the talks will show real progress before he asks the president to offer formal assurances to the two leaders. There is another reason too.

debkafile’s Washington sources also report that although Obama gave Kerry a free hand for restarting the peace track, he is slowing the Secretary down with reservations of his own, especially with regard to the Secretary’s choices of special envoys to lead the four specialist negotiating tracks or mechanisms.

Leading candidate for the political mechanism is his longtime close adviser on Middle East issues Frank Lowenstein, former Senate Foreign Relations committee chief of staff who acted as policy advisor to Senator Kerry. Another candidate is Martin Indyk, twice ambassador to Israel. It is not clear which would be the senior.

The White House would prefer a member of the National Security Council rather than a State Department loyalist in the seat assigned to Indyk.
Tagged for the military-security track is retired Marine general John Allen, former commander of US forces in Afghanistan and former supreme commander of NATO.
An appointee of this high rank to supervise the negotiations on security matters is intended to give the US the leverage to dictate the pace of this track and override efforts by Israeli security and military officials to bring their will to bear.
The Israeli side will not like this appointment.  

The third mechanism will deal with economic issues and the fourth, under the heading of general subjects, will be the framework for Arab League delegates, and especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to take a hand in the process and determining its outcome.  

John Kerry has constructed an intricate edifice over and above the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, a kind of US administration superstructure with Arab components, to stand over the Israeli government and its prime minister and the Palestinian Authority and its chairman.
Regardless of he powerful machine Kerry is building to steer the negotiating parties and bend them to Washington’s will,  Netanyahu is already racing ahead to put before the cabinet meeting Sunday, July 28, a proposal for a popular referendum that will be called to approve an accord negotiated with the Palestinians. There is a long way to go before that point is reached – if ever.

Journalist: ‘Heavy Heart’? Don’t Believe It
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Maayana Miskin
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Reports Sunday morning of a close vote on a decision to free terrorists are nothing more than government spin, journalist Amit Segel of Channel 2 has said.

Segel wrote a “Guide to the New Political Spin” on his Facebook page on Sunday morning.

“Don’t believe any emotional report of drama in the Cabinet meeting,” he warned readers. “There has not yet been a decision that the Prime Minister wanted to pass that his ministers rejected.”

“Don’t get excited if the vote ‘hinges on a single vote,’” he advised.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself is behind the supposed controversy within the government, he accused. Netanyahu has made a deal with the heads of parties in his coalition “to make it look hard,” he said.

“Don’t buy certain right-wing ministers’ emotional statements about how releasing terrorists is a disaster. If they thought it was such a big disaster – let them have some dignity and step down,” he suggested.

“Or maybe they think stepping down would be an even bigger disaster than freeing terrorists with blood on their hands,” he added.

There were reports Sunday morning that Netanyahu had delayed the cabinet meeting by half an hour in order to give himself more time to promote the plan. Some ministers have said they will support the plan “with a heavy heart.”

Minister of Industry, Labor and Economy Naftali Bennett has told reporters that he plans to oppose the release.

A recent poll shows that 85% of Israelis believe Israel should not free terrorist murderers as a precondition to talks, and over 78% said terrorists should not be freed even after talks begin.

The families of victims of terrorism, and their supporters, held a protest Sunday morning outside the Prime Minister’s Office as the government prepared to vote on the release. Among those expected to be freed are several terrorists who murdered multiple people, including three terrorists who murdered Jewish mothers and their young children in firebomb attacks.

Israeli Cabinet Approved Release of 104 Palestinian Prisoners
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The vote went 13 ministers in favor to 7 against and two abstentions. It took place after Likud ministers forced Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to drop his plan to include Israeli Arab prisoners in the group as per the Palestinian demand. A separate vote will take place at a later period on this issue. DEBKAfile: The question now is will Mahmoud Abbas stand by his threat to miss the date next Tuesday for the first get-together of Palestinian and Israeli teams in Washington. Dozens of Israelis rallied on Sunday in Jerusalem to protest the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists, as a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinian government. They included families of Israelis killed in terrorist attacks.

Bennett: Terrorists Should be Killed, not Released
Jul 28th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Elad Benari
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Saturday night that he would vote against the release of 104 terrorist prisoners, a demand by the Palestinian Authority in order to start peace negotiations.

Bennett said that he has also instructed all the ministers from the Bayit Yehudi to vote against the release as well. The ministers will vote on the release on Sunday morning.

“Terrorists should be killed, not released,” wrote Bennett on his Facebook page. “All my life I fought towards fulfilling the two parts of this sentence. Tomorrow I will vote against.”

He said, "I am the last one who needs to be convinced not to release murderers. I’ve instructed the Bayit Yehudi ministers to vote against.”

Meanwhile, it was reported on Saturday night that Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman has told ministers from his party that they will be allowed to vote according to their conscience.

It is believed that the move will have a majority in the Cabinet.

In advance of the resumption of the peace talks, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed to release 104 terrorist murderers who committed their terrorist crimes before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. The number is up from the previously discussed number of 82.

The terrorists to be released from captivity will include Israeli citizens. The list of names will be approved by Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Internal Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch and Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Perry, who was chosen because of his past as the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

Netanyahu took the rare step Saturday evening of publishing a long missive to the Israeli public. In it, he explains why he has agreed to release the terrorists as a "gesture" accompanying talks with the Palestinian Authority. He also states that the talks need to last at least nine months.

"This is a tremendously difficult decision to make. It hurts the bereaved families, it hurts the entire nation of Israel and it hurts me very much,” he wrote.

"It collides with an exceedingly important value – the value of justice.

"It is a clear injustice when evil people are released before the end of their sentences, even if an absolute majority among them have served over 20 years in jail.

"The decision is doubly personally difficult for me, because I and my family know personally the price of bereavement from terror. I know the pain well. I have felt it on a daily basis for the past 37 years.