JERUSALEM-ON-THE-LINE

News Update May 22^nd 2013

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

“O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be our arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.” Isa 33:2

ISRAEL EXTENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE USA OVER OKLAHOMA TORNADO: PM Binyamin Netanyahu sent a letter of condolence to President Barack Obama and the American people on Tuesday, following the disastrous Oklahoma tornado. “On behalf of the Government and people of Israel, I offer our heartfelt condolences to you and to the people of the United States on the massive tornado that struck in Oklahoma and exacted such a horrific toll in human life,” the letter reads. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this tragedy and their families at this difficult time.” Dozens of people, including nine children, were killed and at least 237 were injured when a massive tornado struck an area outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon. (Arutz-7) Vision for Israel staff members also extend deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones and homes in this terrible tragedy.

CHABAD ISSUES OKLAHOMA RELIEF APPEAL TO JEWS WORLDWIDE: The Chabad Center of Oklahoma City has issued an appeal to the worldwide Jewish community to contribute “as generously as possible” to their preferred relief organizations. “The situation is heart-wrenching, to be so close to such devastation yet so distant in circumstance. However, to witness the tremendous outpouring of support is comforting and heartwarming,” writes Rabbi Ovadia Goldman of Oklahoma’s Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning. In addition to raising money and collecting supplies for victims of the tornado the Oklahoma Chabad Center has opened its facility as a shelter for individuals displaced by the storm. (J.Post/Arutz-7) Photos of the devastating aftermath and wreckage of this massive tornado are hard to believe. Pray for comfort to be given and generous provision to all victims of this catastrophe. Pray for the healing of those who are wounded and for shelter to be given to the thousands who have been left homeless.

GANTZ: IF ASSAD ESCALATES ATTACKS, HE’LL BEAR CONSEQUENCES: In blunt language marking a turn away from diplomatic caution, Israel warned the Syrian government Tuesday that it “would suffer the consequences” if it continued to press attacks, hours after Syrian and Israeli troops exchanged fire along the cease-fire line in Israel’s Golan Heights. After an Israel Defense Forces jeep was reportedly hit by machine-gun fire from a Syrian military post on the cease-fire line, a potential flash point for spillover from Syria’s civil war, Israel “returned pinpoint fire at the source,” and the position was destroyed. “We will not allow the area of the Golan Heights to turn into an easy target for Syrian attacks,” said IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. “Last night, Syrian positions fired three times while we were patrolling along the border fence. We’ve had enough,” said Gantz. “We are seeing things happening in Syria - the transfer of military equipment, Assad issuing warnings, talking, leading and encouraging the expansion of actions against the state of Israel at various levels, including the Golan Heights. If he deteriorates the situation on the Golan Heights, he will have to bear the consequences.” (J.Post) “You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms.” Jer 51:20

IDF TO LAUNCH NATIONWIDE DRILL AS OFFICIALS RAMP UP WAR RHETORIC: “There is no longer a question whether missiles will be launched at Israel’s major population centers, only when it would happen,” Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan said Tuesday ahead of a nationwide drill. The civil war raging in Syria and ominous Israeli promises to prevent advanced weapons from landing in the hands of terrorist organizations are only part of the background for the national emergency exercise set to be held next week. The drill, held jointly by the IDF Home Front Command and emergency services, aims to prepare the Israeli population for the undesired event of thousands of missiles and rockets hitting population centers and strategic installations across the country, including unconventional weapons from Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. The simulation will commence Sunday morning. From Monday until Wednesday the drill will focus on the civilian population, in particular practicing a speedy retreat to protected spaces. This will be the first time the entire early warning system will be put to a test as, besides sirens, civilians will receive alerts via different media including mobile devices, social networks and television broadcasts. (Ynet)

RIVLIN: US CRITICISM IS OUT OF LINE: US Secretary of State John Kerry was wrong to condemn Israel for legalizing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, former Knesset Speaker MK Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday. Kerry called Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, last week, to protest the planned legalization of four outposts. “Kerry’s protest is out of line,” Rivlin said. “It contains a measure of antagonism to Israel.” The US administration has criticized Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria as an obstacle to peace talks. The Palestinian Authority has stated it will not negotiate for peace unless Israel first stops all construction east of the 1949 armistice line. “Israel’s traditional willingness to hold negotiations with no preconditions has not changed, and has even received support abroad,” Rivlin said. “It’s been proven in the past that meeting preconditions has not brought the Palestinians to the negotiating table. The ball is in the Palestinians’ court, not ours,” he added. “The American State Department’s protest aims to create a new diplomatic reality, and indirectly – and unjustly – to force Israel to change its approach regarding negotiations without preconditions,” he said. (INN) Israel has made countless gestures and concessions over the years in an effort to keep peace negotiations proceeding with the Palestinians. PA leaders have yet to respond with even the smallest token of good will. Rather, they have made impossible demands of the Jewish state in return for a peace deal which they have no desire or intention of honoring. Ultimately, the Palestinians want Israel to give over hugely populated areas of its land, including East Jerusalem, and to allow Arab refugees and their prodigy, now numbering in the millions, to return to Israel, which would render it an Arab rather than a Jewish state. PA leaders know such unfeasible stipulations cannot and will not be met by Israel’s government. Pray Israel’s leaders will remain resolute in refusing to yield to PA manipulation and to US pressure.

GOVT: UNESCO LIED, SO PLANNED JERUSALEM VISIT CANCELED: The government on Monday informed UNESCO, the UN organization responsible for educational, scientific, and cultural matters, that a delegation that planned to visit Jerusalem was not welcome. The UNESCO group will not be given visas to enter the country, the government said. The UN group claimed it wanted to visit Jerusalem to catalog the sites, and that the trip was to be professional in nature and would not have a political character. On that basis, the government agreed to allow the group into Israel. But in reality, the source said, UNESCO officials had set up several meetings with Arab activists, Palestinian Authority figures, and terrorists, giving the visit a political, not professional, character. As such, UNESCO lied, the source said, violating the agreement with Israel – and thus the entire visit would be cancelled. (J.Post)

NAZI FLAG FLIES SOUTH OF JERUSALEM: Residents of the Arab town of Beit Omar between Jerusalem and Hebron strung up a large Nazi flag adjacent to their local mosque on Monday in a clear message to the Jews living in close proximity. A resident of the nearby Jewish Etzion Bloc said the incident was very jarring. “I felt we were going back 75 years, losing our hold on the land. The Arabs no longer feel the need to hide their murderous intentions, announcing out loud that they wish to annihilate us.” The Nazis and Adolf Hitler have long been idolized in much of Palestinian society. Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” remains one of the 10 bestselling books in the PA-controlled territories today, and has a local distributor. During World War II, the Palestinian leader in the Middle East, Haj Amin al-Husseini, was a close confidante of Hitler, and actively recruited fellow Muslims to the Nazi cause. (Israel Today)

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTS CONTINUED RISE IN ANTISEMITISM: The US State Department’s religious freedoms report describes a continued global increase in antisemitism during 2012. “Of great concern were expressions of antisemitism by government officials, by religious leaders, and by the media, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt, and Iran,” the report released Monday said. “At times, such statements led to desecration and violence.” It noted the continued “flourishing” of the Passover blood libel as well as Holocaust denial. (Ha’aretz)

ISRAEL IS WORLD’S LARGEST EXPORTER OF DRONES: Israel is the world’s largest exporter of unmanned aircraft, in terms of the number of systems sold. Over the last eight years Israel has exported $4.6 billion worth of unmanned aerial vehicles. Over half of Israel’s UAV exports from 2005 through 2012 were to Europe, with a large number of aircraft supplied to Britain. Drones were also sold to Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Spain. One-third of Israeli exports went to the Asia-Pacific region, including India, a major buyer of Israeli defense systems, and Azerbaijan. (Ha’aretz)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA SEEKS ISRAELI MEDICAL KNOW-HOW: The government of Papua New Guinea is looking to learn about the Israeli health system, Health Minister Yael German said on Monday. She met in Jerusalem with the governor of the western province of Papua New Guinea, a small country in Oceania that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. The two discussed cooperation between the countries and the possibility of sending an Israeli delegation to advise medical teams, mostly on telemedicine. The governor told German that local medicine lacks advanced technologies and that his visit to Israel was meant to connect between Israeli experts and their counterparts in Oceania. (J.Post)

(Source: jnnnews.com)

Israel Today

Christian oil company boosts exploration in Israel

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | Ryan Jones

Zion Oil & Gas, an American Christian-run company, submitted a new exploratory license last month that will significantly increase its efforts to find oil in Israel.

Zion already explores for oil in areas covering some 218,000 acres of the Jewish state on its Asher-Menashe, Jordan Valley and Joseph licenses. The new Megiddo-Jezreel Valley Licence would add another 98,000 acres of territory.

Israel is generally supportive of outside efforts to find oil in the Holy Land, and is particularly intrigued by Christian involvement in that enterprise, even if many local experts remain skeptical about the chances of actually finding commercially-viable amounts of crude.

Israel Today spoke with Zion Oil & Gas during a company visit to the region in 2011. Founder John Brown said the company “exists because of God’s faithfulness to Israel,” and expressed his firm belief that the land will one day soon spill forth its bounty for the children of Israel.

That contagious optimism has infected some Israeli petroleum officials, including former Petroleum Commissioner Yaakov Mimran, who previously said that deep strata exploration, like that carried out by Zion, could soon pay off.

Jerusalem’s Hebrew University to honor Barbra Streisand with Honorary PhD

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | Israel Today Staff

The following is a press release from the Hebrew University’s Press Liaison:

Legendary American actress, director, singer, producer, composer, philanthropist and activist Barbra Streisand will receive an honorary doctor of philosophy degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The ceremony will take place on Monday, June 17, during the 76th Hebrew University International Board of Governors Meeting.

The honorary doctorate will be presented to Ms. Streisand in recognition of her professional achievements, outstanding humanitarianism, leadership in the realm of human and civil rights, and dedication to Israel and the Jewish people.

Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson, president of the Hebrew University, stated: “Barbra Streisand’s transcendent talent is matched by her passionate concern for equality and opportunity for people of every gender and background. Equally important, her love of Israel and her Jewish heritage are reflected in so many aspects of her life and career. We are deeply proud to honor an individual who exemplifies these values which we at the Hebrew University share and uphold.”

A proponent of education, Ms. Streisand established the Emanuel Streisand Building for Jewish Studies on the University’s Mount Scopus campus in 1984. She dedicated the building in memory of her beloved father, Emanuel, whom she praised as “a teacher, scholar and religious man who devoted himself to education.”

Referring to her 1983 award-winning movie, “Yentl,” in which she played the role of a young woman who enters a yeshiva disguised as a man in order to study Talmud, Ms. Streisand said she was pleased that women could now “pursue Jewish studies without having to disguise themselves as men.” The film, which she directed, produced, and co-wrote, had its Israeli premiere in 1984 under the sponsorship of the Israel Friends of The Hebrew University. Ms. Streisand visited Israel for the dedication and film premiere accompanied by a delegation from the West Coast chapter of American Friends of The Hebrew University (AFHU).

During 2011, Ms. Streisand appeared in a program on behalf of the welfare of soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces; the event raised 12 million dollars and brought attention to a vital cause.

Ms. Streisand’s multi-dimensional career has kept her at the forefront of the entertainment industry for decades. Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn in 1942, she lost her father when she was just a child. While still in her teens, the Erasmus High School honors student launched her career as a singer by initially winning a singing contest. At age 19, Ms. Streisand had her Broadway debut, and in 1962, made her debut album, which quickly became the top-selling record by a female vocalist in the United States.

By age 28, Ms. Streisand had already earned five of the entertainment industry’s most prestigious awards: the Grammy, Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe, making her an icon of American culture and an international favorite. Among her myriad accolades, she received an Oscar for Best Actress (Funny Girl, 1968), and for composing the music for Best Original Song (Evergreen, 1976). During her career, she has been honored by the Directors Guild of America and received the National Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton, the Peabody Award, the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement and Kennedy Center Honors. The internationally recognized artist received France’s Legion of Honour from President Nicolas Sarkozy. Additionally, Ms. Streisand is an author and photographer known for her critically acclaimed book, “My Passion for Design.”

Ms. Streisand has been long admired for her civic activism and philanthropic leadership. Her commitment is reflected in the work of The Streisand Foundation, which is dedicated to fostering women’s equality and health, protecting human and civil rights, advancing the needs of at-risk children in society and preserving the environment. Often donating the proceeds from her performances on behalf of important causes, Ms. Streisand has been a leading spokesperson and fund-raiser for AIDS research and treatment; she received the 1992 Commitment to Life Award from the AIDS Project Los Angeles. In 1989, she established a chair in Environmental Science at the Environmental Defense Fund, with a focus on global climate change, and later funded the participation of the organization’s top scientists at the Global Warming World Summit in Kyoto. She was also a leading contributor to the William Jefferson Clinton Climate Change Initiative. Ms. Streisand has been a driving force behind the Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, which renamed the center in her honor, The Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center.

Ms. Streisand holds an Honorary Doctorate in Arts and Humanities from Brandeis University (1995). A forceful advocate for social justice, she received The Humanitarian Award from the Human Rights Campaign and was awarded the ACLU Bill of Rights Award from the American Civil Liberties Union for her defense of U.S. constitutional rights.

Israe Today

Israel’s Messianic Jews celebrate Shavuot

Thursday, May 16, 2013 | Israel Today Staff

Israeli Messianic believers in Yeshua from across the country gathered in the Jerusalem-area village of Yad Hashmonah on Wednesday to mark the biblical festival of Shavuot.

Shavuot is one of Israel’s most revered biblical holidays, as it commemorates, among other things, the giving of God’s Word at Mt. Sinai. The holiday has entered the Christian calendar as Pentecost, the day of the outpouring of God’s spirit on the local body of Yeshua’s followers in Jerusalem. So, for Israeli believers, Shavuot is doubly important.

As with every year, hundreds of Messianic Jews and Christians living in Israel made their way to Yad Hashmonah for the festive event. Among those addressing the gathering was a Ugandan pastor who two years ago had acid poured over his head by an angry Muslim gang. He is currently living in Israel to undergo treatment in Tel Aviv.

The African visitor said he was raised a Muslim who hated the Jewish state, but after finding the Bible realized that every passage made clear that the God of Israel is the one and only true God.

Women in Prayer Shawls - Equality, or National Threat?

Thursday, May 16, 2013 | Tsvi Sadan

A small group of about 50 women from the group “Women of the Wall” caused an uproar at Jerusalem’s Western Wall last Friday. The group had chosen this day to protest for what they called “equality” by wearing prayer shawls and reading from Torah scrolls (activities traditionally reserved for men) while praying at the holy site.

The first day of a new Hebrew month, which last Friday was, is traditionally seen as a holiday more important to women, the choice of day made sense. But this, so it seems, was the only point of contact with tradition.

As the group’s website states, Women of the Wall is a movement of Jewish women “from around the world who strive to achieve the right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem, Israel. The Western Wall is Judaism’s most sacred holy site and the principal symbol of Jewish people-hood and sovereignty, and Women of the Wall works to make it a holy site where women can pray freely.”

More clearly, Women of the Wall want to change tradition so that any Jewish group will be allowed to pray at the Kotel as they see fit. Women of the Wall want to pray as men do, with prayer shawls and reading from the Torah, and they want to pray without the current separation of men from women. Every aspect of the group’s aim stands against Jewish tradition. Customs honored for millennia are now being challenged.

When religious authorities initially prevented the Women of the Wall from worshiping as they wanted, the case was brought before Israel’s Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled that a special area be designated for Jews who insist on worshiping in ways contrary to tradition. That ruling, as could be expected, did not change most people’s minds regarding this topic, and when Women of the Wall persisted with praying at the Western Wall in their own way, riots ensued.

Media coverage of this saga almost unanimously sides with Women of the Wall as defenders of progress and freedom. The fact that an identifiable majority of Israelis, both religious and secular, do not support the group’s goals makes little difference. Thousands turned out to counter-protest the 50 Women of the Wall, yet the majority was condemned in the name of democracy and the right of people to do whatever they want.

One of the greatest achievements in the history of Judaism was the successful unification of warring Jewish factions by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. From a Jewish perspective, it was the baseless hatred amongst Jewish factions at the time that almost resulted in Israel’s total annihilation.

If Judaism is to avoid once again being broken down into little factions that hate one another, maybe, for the greater good of Israel, this march toward Western liberalism and even some of its more admirable values should be shelved for now.

Early summer rains interrupt Shavuot

Thursday, May 16, 2013 | Vanessa Biermann

The biblical festival of Shavuot is a late spring event that rarely, if ever, sees any rain in Israel. But this year, the holiday was a wet one, indeed.

Israelis typically flock to national parks to celebrate Shavuot, but attendance on Wednesday was way down as heavy rains and thunderstorms forced many to mark the holiday at home.

In the northern Jezreel Valley, all holiday events had to be canceled, and the port city of Haifa experienced serious flooding. A number of cars, shops and homes were damaged by the water.

While most just tried to minimize the damage and stay safe, some took advantage of the situation to enjoy a few laps around the city in their kayaks.

In the area of the Dead Sea, rescue crews had to save six people, including three children, who had become trapped by flash floods.

“This is real winter,” said one meteorologist. “It looks as if we are in February, not May.”

One positive side of the surprise rain was that the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s largest fresh water reservoir, began to rise again after most had expected it to settle in to its long summer evaporation.

UN peacekeepers fear Hezbollah terrorists

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 | Aviel Schneider

The peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are increasingly coming into hostile and even violent contact with the Hezbollah terrorist militia near the Lebanon-Israel border. The Lebanese troops who had taken control of the border after the last war in 2006 have largely been redeployed as a result of mounting tension on the country’s eastern border due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.

Taking advantage of this power vacuum, Hezbollah has entered the area in force, and is daily confronting the blue helmets of UNIFIL. Hezbollah blocks UNIFIL patrols along the border and has even threatened to abduct members of the international peacekeeping force, similar to what Syrian rebel groups did earlier this month.

UNIFIL officers have reportedly told their Israeli counterparts that they are fed up with the situation. The moment it becomes clear the the lives of the peacekeepers are in peril, UNIFIL will withdraw from the region, driving the final nail in the coffin of UN Resolution 1701 that ended the Second Lebanon War.

As we have noted before, the UN is only “effective” when everything is quiet. With both UNIFIL and the UN peacekeepers on the Israel-Syria border threatening to flee the region, it is once more clear that Israel cannot commit its security into the hands of others.