Tidbits of Truth

JERUSALEM-ON-THE-LINE

News Update May 28^th 2012

JNN NEWS, P.O. Box 7411, Jerusalem 91073, Israel

“On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem. The feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.” Zech 12: 8

SYRIAN REGIME MURDERS 111 PEOPLE OVER THE WEEKEND - IRAN CONFIRMS SENDING TROOPS TO SYRIA: Iran confirmed Sunday that it has, as previously speculated, sent troops to aid President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in his country. Sunday’s statement was particularly piercing, as it followed the brutal killing of 109 people in the central town of Houla on Friday. The carnage includes 32 children under the age of 10 who were slaughtered by Damascus’ forces. Gruesome videos Saturday showed rows of dead Syrian children lying in a mosque in bloody shorts and T-shirts with gaping head wounds. The massacre was strongly condemned by the United Nations, the US, Britain, Germany and France. The White House described the violence as acts of “unspeakable and inhumane brutality.” A statement issued by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and international envoy Kofi Annan said the “appalling and brutal crime involving indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force was a fragrant violation of international law and of the commitments of the Syrian government to cease the use of heavy weapons in population centers and violence in all its forms.” Syrian forces also shot dead at least two men on Sunday as protests broke out to condemn the mass murder. The UN and human rights groups estimate over 13,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March 2011. (Arutz-7/Ynet) Such brutality on the part of the Syria regime, backed by its closest ally Iran, is shocking beyond belief. If Islamists can murder and torture their own people to maintain the grip of power, what will they do their most hated enemy Israel, given the means?

NETANYAHU: ISRAEL APPALLED BY SYRIA MASSACRE; IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH MUST ALSO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE: For the first time since the Syrian uprising began over a year ago, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement condemning the massacre. He expressed “appall at the continuous slaughter of innocent civilians by Assad’s forces.” He added that “Iran and Hezbollah cannot be separated from Assad’s massacre, and the world needs to take action against them as well.” Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has also taken a tough stand on the matter. In recent months he has repeatedly called for Assad to resign. He has also offered humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. (Ha’aretz)

RUSSIAN, NORTH KOREAN ARMS SHIPS DOCK IN SYRIA AS BLOODY CRACKDOWN CONTINUES: Two cargo ships from Russia and North Korea arrived on Saturday in Syrian ports. Both countries continue to send weapons and ammunition to Syria, despite the ongoing bloody repression of the Syrian uprising by security forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. Senior opposition figures have confirmed the shipments are being paid for by the Iranian government. A very senior figure in the Syrian opposition said, “The shipments arrive by air and sea - they are being paid for by a special slush fund that the Iranian government set up for this purpose.” The opposition source further said that “Iran is assisting Assad in many ways, including military advice and technology, but the most significant help is the supply of ready cash to pay for weapon supplies. Nearly all the arms and equipment of the Syrian army are of Soviet or North Korean origin. They urgently need parts for the vehicles and ammunition and shells to replace what was fired against pro-democracy demonstrators over the last 15 months throughout the country.” The arms shipments continue since Russian and Chinese diplomatic pressure has so far prevented the UN Security Council from authorizing sanctions and weapons embargoes on Syria. (Ha’aretz)

IRAN OFFICIAL SAYS NO NEED TO INSPECT PARCHIN NUCLEAR SITE: The UN nuclear watchdog has failed to convince Iran of the need to inspect a military base suspected of housing nuclear weapons’ experiments, the head of the country’s atomic agency said on Saturday. Iranian nuclear chief Fereidoun Abbasi, reiterated over the weekend, Iran’s refusal to stop enrichment: “We do not ask for permission from anyone to meet our country’s demands. There is no reason for us to give up enriching uranium to 20% because we we produce this fuel only to meet our needs,” he said. Abbasi’s remarks claimed that Iran has significantly stepped up its output of low-enriched uranium in the past five years. The UN agency also said satellite images showed “extensive activities” at the Parchin military complex which inspectors want to check over suspicions that research relevant to nuclear weapons was done there. (Ha’aretz)

US STUDY: IRAN HAS ENOUGH URANIUM FOR FIVE NUCLEAR BOMBS: Iran has significantly stepped up its output of low-enriched uranium and total production in the last five years. It would be enough for at least five nuclear weapons if refined much further, a US security institute has said. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a think-tank which tracks Iran’s nuclear program closely, based the analysis on data in the latest report by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency which was issued on Friday. Progress in Iran’s nuclear activities is closely watched by the West and Israel as it could determine how long it could take Tehran to build atomic bombs. During talks in Baghdad last week, six world powers failed to convince Iran to scale back its uranium enrichment program. They will meet again in Moscow next month to try to defuse a decade-old standoff that has raised fears of a new war in the Middle East that could disrupt oil supplies. Friday’s report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) showed Iran was pressing ahead with its uranium enrichment work in defiance of UN resolutions calling on it to suspend the activity. (AP) Pray that world powers will cease to give Iran the very time it needs to achieve its nuclear enrichment goals.  After April’s nuclear talks with Iran produced nothing more than an agreement to talk again in May, Israel’s PM Netanyahu said the Obama administration and the other “six nations” (China, Germany, Britain, France, and Russia) had merely given Iran a “freebie.” He warned that the Islamic Republic was merely using the talks to buy time. Events have proven him correct, as the May talks have led to nothing but an agreement to talk again in mid-June, while Iran has shifted the “six nations” towards allowing it to enrich uranium to near-weapons levels.  

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AIMS FOR JERUSALEM: Recently, a radical Muslim preacher told thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt, “We can see how the dream of the Islamic caliphate is being realized, God willing, by Dr. Mohamed Mursi” - the movement’s presidential candidate. “The capital of the United States of the Arabs - will be Jerusalem.  Our capital shall not be in Cairo, Mecca or Medina. Yes, Jerusalem is our goal. We shall pray in Jerusalem, or die as martyrs on its threshold.”  This current speech highlights the motive of extreme Muslims, which is to gain control of Jerusalem. Bible prophecy has long foretold that an end-time “king of the South” - likely involving or led by Egypt - will push for Jerusalem only to be overrun by, what is speculated to be, a European Beast power. Egypt’s presidential election results will be announced on Monday or Tuesday - the determination of which many claim could “change the Middle East.”  Unofficial results thus far suggest the top two candidates are indeed the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi and former Egyptian Air Force commander Ahmed Shafiq. They will compete in a second round of voting in June. In a recent dangerous development, the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group gained domination in both parties of the Egyptian parliament. Mere weeks ago, the MB presidential candidate, Mursi, said that if elected president, he would not meet with Israel’s leaders. He also vowed to alter Egypt’s peace treaty with the Jewish state. The MB has never made a secret of seeking to abrogate the 1979 Egyptian/Israeli peace treaty. It has been opposed to Israel’s existence from the day it was established. Indeed, its Palestinian off-shoot, Hamas, calls in its Charter for Israel’s destruction and the murder of Jews. (Reuters/AP/Tomorrow’s World) “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land.” Dan 11: 40-41 

ANCIENT JEWELRY UNCOVERED IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG: Israeli archaeologists have discovered a rare trove of 3,000-year-old jewelry, including a ring and earrings, hidden in a ceramic jug near the ancient city of Megiddo, where biblical prophecy predicts the final battle of Armageddon. Archaeologists who unearthed the jug left it in a laboratory while they waited for a molecular analysis of what was inside. When they were finally able to clean it, pieces of gold jewelry – a ring, earrings, and beads – dating to around 1100 B.C. poured out. Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University, who co-directed the dig, said that the find offers a rare glimpse into ancient Canaanite high society. Tel Aviv University called the trove “among the most valuable ever found from the Biblical period,” adding that one piece in particular, a gold earring decorated with molded ibexes, or wild goats, is “without parallel.” (Huff Post)

SWIMMER GARNERS ISRAEL’S FIFTH MEDAL AT EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: Israeli swimmer Yakov Toumarkin won his second bronze medal at the 31th European Swimming Championship held in Hungary on Saturday. Toumarkin reached third in the 200-meter backstroke event after fetching the bronze at an earlier 100-meter back stroke finals. He has become the first Israeli swimmer to garner two medals in a single European championship contest. His medal is the fifth overall obtained by a member of the Israeli delegations in this tournament, following a total of nine such medals achieved since Israel started taking part in European swimming championships. (Ha’aretz)

(Source: jnnnews.com)

JERUSALEM-ON-THE-LINE

JOL Sunday People Update May 27^th 2012

JNN NEWS, P.O. Box 7411, Jerusalem 91073, Israel

FIRST THE SATURDAY PEOPLE, THEN THE SUNDAY PEOPLE: Islamic terror groups have had a favorite taunt for several decades which says, first the Saturday people, then the Sunday people. This means of course, first the Jews then the Christians will be targets for terrorist persecution, subjection and elimination. Vision for Israel, in an ongoing endeavor, is keeping you informed monthly of growing Christian oppression across Islamic controlled lands that you may pray for both the victims and their persecutors.

NEW ARAB BOOK FURTHERING ANTISEMITIC BLOOD LIBELS: A new book, entitled “Jewish Hostility Towards Christ and Christians” and written in Arabic by Assad Azzouni, has been gaining much Jordanian media publicity. According to recent articles, the book accuses the Jews of trying to destroy Christianity and convert all Christians to Judaism. It alleges the Talmud is dedicated to starting wars and writes of the authenticity of the antisemitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The reports however, do not even show the slightest bit of skepticism about Azzouni’s claims. Furthermore, Azzouni published one article furthering the age-old antisemitic blood libel, calling on his readers “not to forget the Jewish need to kill Christian children and knead their blood in dough on their Passover festival.” He continues to profess the Talmud says if Christian blood is not available, Muslim blood is acceptable because many Christians converted to Islam. No comments on the article; no one protesting this throwback to the antisemitism of the Middle Ages in Europe. It is simply accepted as a fact in the Arab world. (Arutz-7)

IRANIAN GOVERNMENT DEMANDS DETAILS ON CHRISTIAN CONGREGATIONS: According to a report May 25, Iranian authorities have told church leaders to submit the names and National ID numbers of their members, threatening the security of Christian converts. Under duress, leaders of the Assemblies of God church in Tehran were “asked” to provide personal information on new members by Iranian security officials. Being known to the authorities as a Christian, especially a convert, could have detrimental effects on the employment prospects of non-Muslims. Even worse forms of persecution, such as imprisonment, are a threat. Assemblies of God churches in Iran have been under surveillance for decades. The Ministry of Intelligence previously demanded the names and personal data of congregational members 20 years ago, but church leaders refused to comply. In 2009, the church was banned from holding services on Fridays in Farsi, the Iranian national language, a prohibition that has since been imposed on other congregations in the capital. Although this continued campaign of harassment has forced Christians out of official churches, many now attend a growing number of hidden house churches that authorities have been unable to harass. (Worthy News)

IRANIAN PASTOR YOUCEF NADARKHANI SENDS A LETTER FROM PRISON: The Christian pastor currently sentenced to death in Iran for apostasy wrote a letter this month thanking his supporters. It is the first time in a year he has been heard from since being jailed. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani faces the death penalty for abandoning Islam and converting to Christianity. In his letter, he said that he wanted to thank all of his beloved brothers and sisters for their prayers on his behalf and to inform them that he is in good health in the flesh and spirit, despite difficulties in prison. “This is the day of exam and trial of my faith,” wrote the pastor of the Church of Iran, one of the nation’s largest evangelical house church movements. “These days are hard, but to prove my loyalty and sincerity to God, I am trying to do the best in my power to stay right with what I have learned from God’s commandments,” he wrote. (INN) Intercede for Youcef Nadarkhani’s strength, courage and release from prison. Pray also that his captors might come to faith. “I have suffered much - preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.” Ps 119:107

IRAN DETAINS LAWYER OF PASTOR NADARKHANI: Jailed Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who faces execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, will be soon without a lawyer as his defense attorney has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment. A council member of Nadarkhani’s Church of Iran house church movement said lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah was detained briefly earlier this month and then released. However, according to the verdict, he is supposed to serve the sentence very soon. The attorney was convicted of acting against national security, spreading propaganda and keeping banned books at home. His expected imprisonment in one of Iran’s notorious prisons “is also bad news for Pastor Nadarkhani’s case,” stressed the church official. Without the lawyer, it will be even more difficult to prevent the execution of Pastor Nadarkhani, according to the spokesman, who himself is hiding citing security reasons. (BosNews)

IRAN HOUSE CHURCH PASTOR STILL BEATEN IN PRISON: Prominent Iranian house church pastor Behnam Irani is still beaten in his prison but less frequently, an official assisting him with advocacy said May 14, just weeks after his family expressed concerns he may die. Irani reportedly has had intestinal bleeding, or bloody stool, for roughly six months among other ailments. He has asked to visit a doctor and they have denied his requests, an advocacy representative has disclosed, adding that his group has urged supporters to “Please pray for his healing and deliverance from the bleeding.”  According to reports the jailed pastor, despite his difficult circumstances, remains strong and joyful in the faith. Irani, who is in his 40s and married with two children, has been behind bars in a prison of Karaj city where he led a congregation of the Church of Iran house church movement. He has been held on charges of “crimes against the Islamic state” apparently linked to his involvement in the unauthorized house church. (Worthy News) Intercede for Behnam Irani that he may be both healed and set free from prison. Pray also for his wife and children that they may be protected, comforted and receive every necessary provision for their daily lives.

GROWING NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS IN AFGHANISTAN DESPITE DEATH THREATS: A growing number of Afghans, including politicians, are embracing Christianity and meet in house churches despite death threats and attacks by Islamic terrorists. A Christian news agency, on May 4, quoted informed Afghan authorities as saying that Christianity has obtained a special place “among youth and other layers in society.” The officials said house churches are growing tremendously. An advocacy group assisting Christians living in difficult areas, explained that it learned from an independent Shi’ite website that an Afghan official concluded, “There is evidence of widespread Christian propaganda in Afghanistan.” The unidentified official was quoted as saying it had been proven “more than 10 churches operate secretly in residential houses.” (Bosnews) Pray for a continued move of the Gospel in Afghanistan and for the courage and protection of God’s people there.  Pray also for the growing move of God taking place in the Islamic Republic. Iran is ranked 5th on the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians. Despite the Iranian government’s ongoing crackdown of Christians, the number of Muslims converting to Christianity is growing at an explosive rate. There is talk of witnessing a Christian revival in Iran, especially among young people living in the country.

INDONESIAN ISLAMISTS CONTINUE TO PERSECUTE CHRISTIANS DESPITE POLICE: Even with police on hand, hundreds of Islamists last week attacked the prayer house of the Protestant Batak Church in Jakarta. The congregation was forced to travel to the site on foot after Islamists blocked-off the building from street traffic. Meanwhile, the mob threw sewage, mud, rotten eggs and sticks. “What scares us most is that the number of police was so small compared to the angry mob,” said Rev. Palti Panjaitan. “It is clear they did not have the strength to repel the attackers.” The latest assault follows an Islamist onslaught in mid-May when Muslims threw stones and bags filled with urine at the congregation. For three days a mob also set fire to homes and vehicles in a predominantly Christian neighborhood in Jakarta as dozens of families fled in terror. At least 44 people were injured in the attacks. (Worthy News)

27 CHRISTIANS KILLED IN NIGERIA ATTACK: On Sunday, April 29, three church services in Northern Nigeria were targeted by suspected Muslim terrorists in attacks that left 27 people dead. Witnesses said the assailants arrived at Bayero University by motorcycle and a car, hurling explosive devices and opening fire. There has been no claim of responsibility, but the radical Islamic faction Boko Haram has targeted Nigerian Christians in the past. The group has said it wants to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria and does not recognize the government or the country’s constitution. It also demands that Christians leave the northern regions. Nigeria’s population of 150 million is about evenly divided between Muslims, who mostly live in the north and Christians who populate the south. Hundreds died last year in bombings and shootings blamed on Boko Haram, according to Christians and rights activists. (BosNews/Barnabus-fund)

ISLAM IN AFRICA: THE INVISIBLE GENOCIDE OF CHRISTIANS: According to Philip Jenkins, a leading expert on Christianity in Nigeria, what is at stake in this besieged country is the balance between Islam and Christianity. Nigeria is the largest Muslim country of Africa, a global leader in oil production and a country where the future of religious co-existence is precarious, since the nation is divided between Islam and Christianity. The Islamic conquest of Africa began in the seventh century, when the Umayyads spread the faith in the Mediterranean lands which had long been Byzantine. But in deeper Africa the penetration was difficult, and for centuries Islam was unable to climb over the Horn of Africa. Now, with modern methods of warfare, the world is witnessing a wave of Islamization with unforeseeable, tragic consequences. Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania are already 90% Islamized. The goal is to create a big African-Islamic continent. Christians must be killed or expelled. Over 13,750 Christians have been killed by Muslims in northern Nigeria alone since the introduction of Sharia laws in 2001. In the northern states that have adopted Sharia law, five million Christians are under severe repression. Islam has planted the idea that the Muslim religion is “original in Nigeria” and that the spread of Christianity is “a threat, an enemy to destroy.” From the Gulf of Guinea to the Red Sea, via northern Nigeria, Sudan and Somalia, Sharia has become the only law in many regions. Today Islam is the first religion in a dozen African countries. (Arutz-7)

TARGETING CHRISTIAN HOLIDAYS IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD: In April many Christians around the world celebrated Easter, taking it for granted they can congregate and worship in peace. Not so in the Islamic world. Christian holidays celebrated in church are increasingly a time of death and destruction, a time of terror. Nigeria, for example, saw some 50 Christians killed “when explosives concealed in two cars went off near a church during Easter Sunday services in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna. Muslim assaults on meeting places during the holiest of Christian holidays are not limited to Nigeria but occur throughout the Muslim world. There are some Muslim nations - Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Kuwait - where one rarely hears of Islamic violence against congregations; but that is because they have nipped the “church problem” in the bud by not allowing them to exist in the first place. While church attacks are efficient ways to ensure the deaths of maximum numbers of Christians, intentionally targeting churches during the highest Christian holidays is also a reminder of the malevolency that drives such onslaughts. (Middle East Forum)

(Source: jnnnews.com)

Gaza facts

eretzyisrael:

According to the UN, the standard of living in Gaza and the West Bank ranked higher than all South Asian and Arab counties, and even outpaced Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

Tolerance: Kill your daughter for being too Western

Israel Today:

Former Iranian soldier proudly flies Israeli flag

Friday, May 25, 2012 | Ryan Jones

The Jewish Chronicle last week carried the story of Ali Ramezan, a former Iranian soldier who today proudly supports both Israel and America from his home in Manchester, England.

Ramezan was a member of Iran’s revolutionary forces, and fought in the Iran-Iraq War. But some years later he was caught observing an anti-government rally, and was tortured by his own government for his “crime.”

After that incident, Ramezan apparently began to wonder whether or not he was fighting for the right side. Forced to leave his wife and child behind, Ramezan fled Iran in 1999 and took up residence in the UK as an asylum-seeker.

Ramezan sees those of his family and friends who regularly join in chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” as having been “brainwashed.” He is not the first Iranian or Arab to have come to a realization in recent years that Israel is not the evil entity that people across this region are taught.

In our previous magazine issue, Israel Today wrote about Pakistani, Arab and even liberal European Israel-haters who were brave enough to actually investigate what the Jewish state is all about, and as a result became Israel-supporters.