The Ancient City of David and Solomon’s Megiddo – by BiblePlaces.com

Gleanings on Global News at the Time of the End

“Globalist Israel and the Middle East”

By Robert Mock MD

Bamidbar/Numbers 14:17-21 - And now, I beseech You, let the power of Hashem be great, according as You have spoken, saying: The L-rd is slow to anger, and plenteous in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and He will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech You, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, and according as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.' And Hashem said: 'I have pardoned according to your word. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the L- rd.

Topics

Archeological and Historical News

Animal “Omens” pointing to the Time of the End

Sabbatean Jews and Globalist Israel

The Jews and The Land

Globalist Israel and Globalist America

Anti-Semitism in the World

Israel and the Palestinian State

Lebanon and Israel

Israel in International Sports

Archeological and Historical News

Jewish home found in City of David - June 5, 2005

Jerusalem Post - A Second Temple Jewish house has been uncovered in Jerusalem's ancient City of David, Israel's Antiquities Authority announced Sunday. The 2,000 year old private home, which archeologists believe was part of a complex of homes belonging to affluent people, was discovered during an excavation at the history-rich site last month. Several rooms of the split-level house - as well as a ritual bath - were found at the compound, archeologist Tzvika Greenhaut who was charged with excavation at the site said.

Site of excavation at City of David. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

The plot of land, located across from the Kidron Valley in the present day Arab neighborhood of Silwan, is owned by the right-wing Elad organization, which works to resettle Jews in east Jerusalem. "We are talking about a house belonging to a very rich family," Greenhaut said, noting that the ruins were hewn into the rock in a very high standard. The newly uncovered site will be open to the public, he said.

Western Wall Hill - Out; Temple Period Finds – In – December 13, 2004

Israel National News - The Jerusalem Municipality has decided to take down the hill that leads up from the Western Wall (Kotel) entrance to the Temple Mount, for fear that it might otherwise collapse. The walkway up the hill leads to the Mughrabim Gate, which is currently the only entrance for Jews to the Temple Mount. The city plans to replace the hill with a bridge that will lead into the Mughrabim Gate.

Jerusalem city engineers will take down the hill jutting out from the Western Wall, replacing it with a bridge. Archaeologists expect to find treasures, such as a tall gate from the Second Temple.

The plans are a bonanza for students of Jerusalem history, as the removal of the hill will uncover an eight-meter high gate leading into the Temple Mount. The gate, dating from the period of the Second Temple, is known as Barclay's Gate, after the 19th-century American consul who first identified it.

In addition, archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar told Arutz-7 today, "it's not every day that we get to excavate so close to the Western Wall. We expect to find, as we did in other excavations nearby, the Roman street alongside the Temple Mount structure, and many other treasures." She said that Barclay's Gate descends several meters below the current street level of the Western Wall plaza. "Today, only the top of its lintel can be seen [from the women's section]. It is very beautiful, and when it is uncovered it will be one of the most beautiful scenes in the Old City."

The hill in question, located to the right of the women's section when facing the Wall, is an ancient one, comprising several layers of old buildings. Dr. Mazar said that some of them may be as old as the Mamluke Period, some 700 years ago, but under them are remnants from the Second Temple Period, 2,000 years ago. "I assume that they will study these structures, and document whatever needs to be learned, but in the end, the real find lies behind them. I assume, therefore, that the authorities will remove whatever now forms the hill, so that the full glory of the Wall and the Gate can be seen... It should be a matter of months."

The entire area that is currently the Western Wall plaza was filled with low buildings when Israel liberated the area during the Six Day War of June 1967, and was later cleared away – except for the area on which lies the walkway-hill leading to the Mughrabim Gate.

City engineers fear that the collapse of the hill that began last winter could continue this year, leading to a total collapse. Part of the women's section of the Western Wall plaza is already closed off for fear that worshipers below may be injured by falling rocks and earth, or by a major cave-in. The collapse began last year following a week of heavy rains, a snowstorm and an earthquake.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation launched a new website last night, providing historical information on the Western Wall and real-time photos thereof. The site's English version is scheduled to be ready on January 20. It provides historical background, Jewish sources, historic photos, Bar/Bat Mitzvah options, a virtual "tour" of the entire length of the Western Wall – only a small portion of which is familiar to the public at large – and educational programs, all using impressive and attractive technology.

The site also features three different real-time video views [clickable on the right side of the screen] of the goings-on at the Kotel. One camera is a wide-angle view of the entire plaza, while another one zeroes in on the prayer area. A third camera shows the Wilson's Arch area, to the left of the men's section.

Large underground reserve of hot water discovered in north – Jun3 14, 2005

Haaretz - A large reserve of hot water was discovered on Tuesday at a depth of over 1,000 meters by the Water Commission who were conducting drillings near Kibbitz Shamir in the north. The Water Commission decided to search for water in the lower lairs of the Jura rock. The water, at the temperature of 45 to 47 degrees Celsius, was found to contain high concentration of sulfate. It burst out of the ground at a pressure of 750 cubic meters per hour.

Ze'ev Achifaz, a commission official said that the water was not potable but could be filtered for agricultural use. The water could also be used for fish pools or to create a tourist center, he said. Although there are no precise estimates of the size of the reserve, it is believed the reserve could supply several millions of cubic meters per year.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 06:00:52 PM EDT

JNF Opens 180th Reservoir – June 16, 2005

The Jewish National Fund has announced the opening of its 180th water reservoir in Israel, noting the extra importance of the reservoirs following this year's lower than average rainfall.

JNFs 180 reservoirs have a total storage capacity of over 35 billion gallons. Despite heavy rainfall during two of the last three winters, Israel's three main water sources -the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), the mountain hill aquifer and the coastal aquifer - have suffered from chronic shortages and instability. In light of the recent rain shortage, JNF reservoirs play an even more crucial role in recycling water and catching rainwater. The recycled water is used for irrigation, thus allowing fresh water to be used for drinking water.

JNF is continuing to build new reservoirs, especially in the Negev desert, where JNFs Blueprint Negev campaign is underway. Five new reservoirs are now under construction: Essence of Life near Mitzpeh Ramon in the Negev, Lachish in the northern Negev, Koren near Kibbutz Gesher Haziv, and Amiad and Shamir Reservoirs in the north.

The Essence of Life Reservoir near the Ramon Air Base, planned to recycle water from the base for use in irrigating the area and maintaining a green area, including a park. The project is supported by synagogues and congregations from around the United States, representing every stream of Judaism.

Lachish, with a capacity of 330 million gallons, will store treated wastewater from Jerusalem and surrounding areas to help irrigate the farm fields of Moshav Lachish and the Etzion Bloc. The reservoir will enable agricultural water quotas to be expanded for export-oriented produce grown on available farming lands, thus helping to enlarge the sources of farm livelihood and strengthen Jewish communities in the Northern Negev.

The Koren Reservoir in the north, will recycle water from Nahariya and handle almost 740 million gallons. Water from Koren will be used to irrigate farms in the surrounding villages. Amiad and Shamir Reservoirs were recently opened in the north at a cost of about $2.5 million. Amiad holds 66 million gallons and treats water from Amiad, Elifelet, Korazim, Kachal and the military camps near them. Shamir is twice the size, and is slated to treat water from Kibbutzim Shamir, Amir, Sde Nechemia and Kfar Szold for the irrigation of the fields of Kibbutz Shamir.

Animal “Omens” pointing to the Time of the End

Rare white buffalo born at ranch – June 7, 2005

The Courier-Journal - When a rare white buffalo was born Friday at a buffalo ranch in Shelby County, owners Bob and Julie Allen thought the baby had prophecy written in her genes.The white calf, regarded as a sacred symbol by Lakota Sioux and other Plains Indian tribes, is a granddaughter of the ranch's former big star, award-winning bull Chief Joseph, a hefty 3,000-pound sire that had cost the Allens $101,000. The bull was struck by lightning on Sept. 11, 2001, and died two weeks later. So the Allens, who own the Buffalo Crossing Restaurant & Family Fun Ranch, were delighted by the calf's birth. "It's just unbelievable," Bob Allen said.

The white buffalo calf stood with her mother yesterday at the Buffalo Crossing Restaurant & Family Fun Ranch in Shelby County. (By Michael Clevenger, The Courier-Journal)

The appearance of a white buffalo is regarded by some followers of American Indian spirituality as on par with the Christian idea of the second coming of Christ, said Bob Pickering, a researcher at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo. "I've heard at least one Lakota elder make that claim," said Pickering, whose book "Seeing the White Buffalo" delves into the legend of the creatures.

As the story goes, Lakota Sioux rituals and beliefs were brought to the tribe by a spiritual being known as the White Buffalo Calf Woman, Pickering said. A white buffalo calf is interpreted as the sacred reincarnation of the woman, he said. Historically, the white buffalo is "probably about the most spiritual being on the prairie," he said. Pickering estimated the incidence of white buffalo births at about 16 per million. He said there are three reasons white calves sometimes appear: they can be albinos, they can be the result of crossbreeding with white cows, or they may be temporarily white and turn dark by their first winter.

The calf is not an albino, said Julie Allen, noting that its eyes are brown, not pink. Flicking her ears and whisking her tail back and forth, the 40-to-50-pound calf resembles a lamb. In the past, Indians sacrificed white buffalo as sacred offerings, but now they avoid doing that, Pickering said. About 600 buffalo roam the Allens' 1,000 acres. They raise buffalo primarily for meat and to serve in the restaurant on their property. But in keeping with tradition, the white calf, which has yet to be named, likely will be spared. "We probably won't put her on the dinner table," Bob Allen said, laughing.

Visitors can see the white buffalo calf and other animals at the ranch from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, except Sundays, when the ranch is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The ranch is at 1140 Bagdad Road, off Ky. 12 near Shelbyville. Admission is free.
Phone: (502) 647-0377. Web site: buffalocrossing.com.

The Legend of the White Buffalo

Rare Black Deer Born In Colorado – June 15, 2005

Farm Family Names Fawn 'Midnight' - You see lots of deer on Colorado's Western Slope but not very many that look like Midnight -- an all-black deer born this past weekend in Loma, Colo. Wildlife experts say an all-black deer is even more rare than an albino deer. They say most hunters will never see a black deer in their lifetime. Midnight was born on a family farm and his owners didn't know what they had at first. "It reminded me of a bear cub, and it was just black and it was chasing that doe around and I thought, 'What do we got in there?" said farmer Steve Bittle. "Thought it as just ... it was weird," said Midnight's owner Hayley Bittle. Midnight also has a strange feature -- blue eyes. The Bittle family say they've never seen anything like Midnight in all the years that they've been raising animals on the farm.

Black Deer with Human Eyes Born in Americas Signals Catastrophic Earth Changes soon to Come – June 18, 2005

More astounding about this birth of the Black Deer are that its eyes are blue when they should be brown, because as we know melanin is a protein and like other proteins the amount and type are coded into the genes. The irises of all eyes in mammals containing a large amount of melanin will always appear black or brown, but in this Black Deer, and whose colour of black can only be due to a high level of melanin, its eyes are Blue.

But to the older peoples of the Earth’s legends we always know that animals born with Blue Eyes are for showing to us humans that they are ‘seeing’ through our ‘eyes’ and that we should understand the message they are sending to us. And where once in the Americas the news of this Black Deer with Blue Eyes would serve as the warning it was meant to convey, in today’s Western world such an amazing event as this is looked upon as just a curiosity without any deeper meaning. To the older peoples of the Americas however the knowledge and wisdom of the Deer Clan’s legends are very well known and it is well worth our time to remember their ancient story: The Knowledge and Wisdom of the Deer Clan.

The Jews and “The Land”

Balfour Declaration draft sold for $884,000 – June 16, 2005
Jerusalem Post - A draft of the Balfour Declaration, the 1917 document in which Britain expressed support for a Jewish state, sold for $884,000 at Sotheby's on Thursday. The identity of the buyer, a collector bidding over the phone, was not disclosed. The draft was written by Leon Simon, an English Zionist leader, at a July 17, 1917, meeting at London's Imperial Hotel. The document is the only known surviving handwritten draft of the declaration, Sotheby's said. Written on hotel stationery, it reads:

``H(is) M(ajesty's) G(overnment) accepts the principle that P(alestine) should be reconstituted as the Nat(ional) Home of the J(ewish) P(eople). HMG will use its best efforts to secure the achievement of this object, and will discuss the necessary methods and means with the Z(ionist) O(rganization).''

The Balfour Declaration was issued Nov. 2, 1917, by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour. It was the first political recognition of Zionism by a great power and became the basis for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. Thursday's sale came a day after another artifact of historical significance was auctioned, one that, in sharp contrast, had far-reaching negative repercussions for the fate of the Jewish people: A copy of Mein Kampf, personally autographed by Hitler was sold to an anonymous British citizen for 23,800 pounds. An entire collection of Nazi paraphernalia was auctioned off, including a signed Third Reich photograph. Mein Kampf, which translates as My Struggle, became the bible of Hitler's Nazi Party.

Muslim Professor: Koran agrees that Holy Land is Jewish – June 6, 2004

Arutz Sheva - Prof. Khaleel Mohammed, Assistant Professor at the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State University, is the latest Muslim expert to say that the Koran - the holiest Muslim work - is actually Zionist. In an interview with Jamie Glazov of FrontPageMagazine.com (June 3, 2004), Mohammed quoted the Koran (5:20-21) as saying: "Moses said to his people: O my people! Remember the bounty of God upon you when He bestowed prophets upon you, and made you kings and gave you that which had not been given to anyone before you amongst the nations. O my people! Enter the Holy Land which God has written for you, and do not turn tail, otherwise you will be losers."

Mohammed emphasized that the above phrase, "God has written for you," is very significant: "In both Jewish and Islamic understandings of the term 'written,' there is the meaning of finality, decisiveness, and immutability...So the simple fact is then, from a faith-based point of view: If God has 'written' Israel for the people of Moses, who can change this?" He also quoted two of Islam's most famous exegetes - Ibn Kathir and Muhammad al-Shawkani - as supporting this explanation.

Imam Abdul Hadi Palazzi, secretary-general of the Italian Muslim Association, has long promoted that it is possible to be a Muslim scholar and leader and still support America, Israel, and democracy. Citing pro-Jewish verses in the Koran, Palazzi told a Jewish audience in Cleveland recently, "There are many good Muslims who value life on earth and the sanctity of their families. Israel should make every effort to support the growth of a pro-Israel movement among these Muslims... (But sadly, Muslims in Israel were emotionally and morally defeated by the Oslo Accords.) They felt that Israel was selling them out to Arafat. They need to be supported and encouraged to speak out in defense of Israel without fear of being assassinated by the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization] or Hamas...Oslo signaled to many of us that Israel was ready to accept peace at any price, and make incredible concessions to ruthless criminals."

Arab-American Nonie Darwish has recently opened a Web site, www.ArabsforIsrael.com . The site states, inter alia, "We are Arabs and [Muslims] who believe we can support the State of Israel and the Jewish religion and still treasure our Arab and Islamic culture." Mohammed, in his interview with FrontPageMagazine, apportions at least partial blame for today's wars to the Muslims of the seventh century: "[W]hen the Muslims entered that land [the Holy Land] in the seventh century, they were well aware of its rightful owners [the Jews], and when they failed to act according to divine mandate (at least as perceived by followers of all Abrahamic faiths), they aided and abetted in a crime. And the present situation shows the fruits of that action - wherein innocent Palestinians and Israelis are being killed on a daily basis." "When the Muslims conquered Jerusalem," Mohammed continued, "it should have been left open for the rightful owners to return. It is possible that Jewish beliefs of the time only allowed such return under a Messiah - but that should not have influenced Muslim action...[The] Muslim occupation and building a mosque on the site of the Temple was something that was not sanctioned by the Koran. How honest is contemporary Islam with this? Given the situation in the Middle East, politicking, etc. stands in the way of honesty."

Mohammed says that Muslim groups have frequently denounced him because he is "out of line with the geopolitical movement toward fundamentalism." "What your readers must understand is that fundamentalism is rapidly becoming mainstream. Moderation is not. A perfect example is in Akbar Ahmed's "Islam Under Siege," where he points out that the Taliban are no longer a fringe group in Pakistan; many Pakistanis are finding themselves drawn to their teachings. Right here in the U.S., I present a problem to those at mosques who use social pressure to coerce others into accepting their extremism…Many Muslims stand against me for no other reason than I say that Israel has a right to exist...I in no way deny that Palestinians have rights. But this is generally not considered by those that criticize my position..."

'Lost tribe' of Israel faces summer evacuation - Group believing it descended from Joseph among those targeted for ouster in August – July 5, 2005

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza - World Net Daily -- They claim to have been forcibly exiled from Israel 2,700 years ago. Following intense lobbying, hundreds recently arrived in the Jewish state from India to settle in what they believe to be their homeland. Now residing in the Jewish communities of Gaza, the group is once again facing exile, this time at the hands of the Israeli government. Meet the "Lost Tribe of Menashe." "It has been a long journey for all of us. This is our land. Jewish land. Now they want to kick us out and we will be forced from our homes and our lives once again," said Shimon Kolney, a resident of Gush Katif, the slate of Gaza's Jewish communities scheduled for evacuation Aug. 15 as part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal plan.

Kolney is also a member of the "B'nei Menashe," a tribe from India who believe they are the lost descendants of Manasseh, one of biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons, and a grandson of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. According to B'nei Menashe oral tradition, the tribe was exiled from Israel and enslaved by the Assyrians 2,700 years ago. They later escaped to the east, eventually settling in the border regions of China and India, where most remain today.

In the 1950s, Konley's father, Tchelah, the chief of an Indian village, said he had a vision, which he shared with his people, that his community was the lost tribe of Menashe. Most in his town had customs very similar to Jewish tradition, but they couldn't explain why. He told his villagers to return at once to Israel and embrace the Jewish faith. Several thousand of Tchelah's followers set out on foot to Israel, but were quickly halted by Indian authorities. Undeterred, many in the village started learning Jewish tradition, and began practicing Orthodox Judaism.

Over the last decade, with the help of Shavei Israel, an organization founded to bring the B'nei Menashe to Israel, the first batch of the tribe arrived in the Jewish state, settling in Gush Katif. "We came here because of the beauty of Gush Katif, and because there was work for us in local greenhouses. We could sustain ourselves here, so we built a community," explained Allenby Sellah, one of the first B'nei Menashe members to immigrate. There are now about 800 tribe members in Israel, 60 of whom reside in Gush Katif. The remainder settled in Jerusalem and several West Bank towns.

On March 30, Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, formally recognized the B'nei Menashe as "descendants of Israel," and is planning to send a rabbinical court to India to oversee the conversion of the remaining members of the community. Even though B'nei Menashe believe they are Jewish by birth, the tribe members must undergo traditional Jewish conversion to satisfy Israel's immigration laws. Here in Gush Katif, B'nei Menashe members lead full Orthodox Jewish lives, studying the Torah regularly, praying three times per day, observing the Sabbath and keeping strict kosher laws.

Most work in greenhouses as supervisors and laborers. Gaza features thousands of Jewish-owned greenhouses, which provide Israel with nearly 70 percent of its produce and feature some of the most advanced agricultural technology in the world, including high-tech temperature regulation and insect-free produce.

The B'nei Menashe here live in a cluster of apartments and houses in Neve Dekalim, a large Katif community. They have mostly integrated with the rest of the local Jewish population. "We go to synagogues with everyone else. Our children go to the same Jewish schools as everyone else. We're treated just like brothers and sisters. It's a beautiful way of life," said Sellah, who lives here with his wife. But after 10 years in Gush Katif and a journey of nearly 3,000 years to arrive here, the tribe is now slated to be expelled next month with the rest of Gaza's Jewish population. "It is very painful," said Kolney. "My father envisioned us returning to our homeland. Of all the things we were expecting once we got to Israel, the one thing we could never imagine was to settle down only to be expelled again." Michael Freund, Shavei Israel founder and chairman, told WND, "The B'nei Menashe have already gone through so much to return to the land and people of Israel, that it is simply unthinkable that the Israeli government would now consider throwing them out of their homes." Like most Katif residents, Kolney and Sellah said they made no plans to move elsewhere. "We have faith in God. Whatever is meant to be will be. But I don't believe the evacuation will take place. I hope it won't," said Sellah.

They say recent events have hit the B'nei Menashe here hard. Hamas now fires an average of three rockets or mortars per day at Gaza's Jewish communities. As the August evacuation draws closer, the rocket attacks are expected to increase exponentially so Palestinian terror groups can claim to their supporters they drove Israel from Gaza, security analysts contend. Critics worry the Gaza evacuation will be seen as a reward for Palestinian terrorism and argue territories evacuated by Israel will be used by Hamas to stage attacks against the Jewish state. "It's not easy now with all the rockets and mortars," said Daniel Hmar, 68, a resident of Neve Dekalim for 6 years.

One B'nei Menashe member, Donald Benyamin, 26, was hit in December by a mortar. "I was in my room, typing on my computer, when a mortar burst through the roof and landed right next to me," recalls Benyamin. "I was knocked unconscious and spent four months in the hospital with pretty bad wounds, but now I am all right." Benyamin suffered mostly flesh wounds and returned home in May. He now has a few scars, but has made a complete recovery. "It was a total miracle," said Benyamin of his recovery. When asked if the experience has made him bitter about living in Gaza, Benyamin replied, "Not at all. This is my home." The Gaza withdrawal plan has also affected some B'nei Menashe financially. Benyamin's uncle, Sharon Benyamin, 42, owns greenhouses and says his business is going downhill. "I am losing a fortune because of the evacuation. I can't afford to put the money down this year to plant all the vegetables if we're going to be uprooted from our homes in August."

Benyamin says he only planted chives this season, and not his usual array of fruits and vegetables, including cucumbers and tomatoes, which take longer to harvest.

According to community leaders, most Katif greenhouse owners this season planted their usual quotas of produce. "I planted it all," said Anita Tucker, one of the pioneer farmers of Gush Katif. "I'm not going anywhere. This is Jewish land and it will always be Jewish land. There have been so many plans to give up Gaza, but they never go through." Unlike most others, Benyamin says he is making plans for the evacuation. "We're still in the process of working out the logistics. I'll have a place to go. You have to think practically. I hope it doesn't happen, but I have a family. I need to prepare for the worst."

ETHIOPIAN JEWS CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE - June 30, 2005

DONCASTER, UK (ANS) -- The plight of Ethiopian Jews caught between a rock and a hard place has been raised by one of their number on a tour of Britain.
Mezmur Zemichael said that some 20,000 of them were absolutely destitute and living in squalid conditions in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital. They had been encouraged to come down from the mountainous area of Gondar, where persecuted Falasha Jews have lived for thousands of years, by promises of being able to start a new life in Israel. “Sickness and disease is spreading among them as they live in cramped conditions, and people are dying,” said Mezmur, who is actively helping them by supplying food and pastoral assistance.

Up to 100,000 Jews have emigrated to Israel from Ethiopia since 1984, but the group now in Addis seem to be stuck there, barely surviving on handouts from Christians. The reason for their dilemma is that, although now registered with the Israeli authorities for emigration to the land of their forefathers, Israel is holding up their departure because they regard them as “no longer Jews” on account of their conversion to Christianity. The truth is that although not forsaking their Jewish identity, many of them see Jesus as their Messiah. This is a result of the century-old work of the British missionary group CMJ (the Church’s Mission to the Jews).

Now Israeli rabbis are being sent to their compound to persuade them to renounce their Christian allegiance. So, persecuted for being Jews in their home country, they are now being prevented from taking refuge in Israel because they see Christ as the fulfillment of Judaism. The average yearly income in Ethiopia today is less than $100, and the Jews are denied even that.

There are successes, however. One pastor found his way to Israel after telling the authorities: “I’m a Jew, I believe in Jesus and God has told me I’m going to Israel.” He was laughed at, but miraculously the way was opened up. In a day-long conference at a Baptist church in Doncaster, Mezmur outlined his country’s ancient links with Israel. They date back thousands of years to the time of the Queen of Sheba, who had a son by King Solomon, and to Moses, who married an Ethiopian (Zipporah). Later an Ethiopian eunuch, the country’s minister of finance, traveled to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel and, on his way back, was led to Christ through the early church evangelist Philip. And so Jews believing in Jesus have lived in Ethiopia – usually referred to as “Cush” in the Bible – ever since. And the Ark of the Covenant is widely believed to have been taken and hidden somewhere in the country. But they haven’t escaped the persecution suffered by Jews in almost every part of the world. Mezmur’s great-grandfather was murdered for being a Jew, but his father turned to Christianity after Jesus appeared to him and now leads a large church of mostly Jewish people. Prayer for Israel (PFI) has taken over from where CMJ left off when they were thrown out by the communists.

Israel's Jewish population to outstrip U.S. by 2006 – July 11, 2005

Haaretz - Israel will have the largest Jewish population in the world by 2006, when it will surpass the United States for the first time in history, the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute said Monday. Planning institute director general Avinoam Bar-Yosef presented the research group's annual report on "the situation of the Jewish people" to the Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee on Monday. The institute, which is partly funded by the Jewish Agency, concluded that the State of Israel is the single guarantee of the Jewish people's continued existence. Bar-Yosef will submit the report to the government next week.

Today about 5.28 million Jews live in the U.S., with 5.235 million living in Israel.The report projects how many Jews there will be in 2020. Israel is the only country in the world expected to see significant growth in the size of its Jewish population, while all other communities in the world are expected to shrink or remain stable. The overall number of Jews in the world is expected to rise by half a million people.

The Jerusalem-based institute predicts that there will be 6.25 million Jews in Israel in 2020, compared to 5.25 million Jews today. In North America the number of Jews is expected to remain stable, at about 5.5 million. The number of Jews in Europe is expected to drop from 1.25 million to 1 million. In the former Soviet Union, the number of Jews is expected to shrink from 380,000 to 180,000.The rate of assimilation is expected to be slightly less than 50 percent in the U.S., 60 percent in Germany and Hungary, and 80 percent in the former Soviet Union.

Record Number of No. Americans Moving to Israel Tomorrow – July 12, 2005

Lekerev Report - The Nefesh B'Nefesh organization has chartered two El Al flights to bring a record number of 500 Jewish immigrants from the U.S. and Canada tomorrow. This will be the largest number of North American immigrants to ever arrive in Israel on one day. On hand to greet them will be Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, new Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski and other officials. This summer's olim (new immigrants) originate from 31 US States and 6 Canadian provinces.

The two flights are only the first of seven scheduled Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN) flights scheduled over the next six months. They are scheduled to bring a total of 3,200 new immigrants to Israel. NBN works in close cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel in bringing North Americans to live in Israel. This is Nefesh B'Nefesh's fourth year of finding potential new immigrants, providing them with financial and other aid, flying them to Israel, and helping their integration into Israeli society. Of the 4,000 Jews who have moved to Israel via Nefesh B'Nefesh since 2002, the organization reports, a full 99% have remained.

Eli Cohen - May his memory be blessed – June 28, 2005

Lekerev Report - The State Memorial Service in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the execution of Israel's greatest spy, Eli Cohen z"l, was held last night in the Jerusalem Convention Center. The program depicting his life and work was superbly planned and flawlessly executed, providing an inspirational and deeply moving tribute to the man whose spying achievements contributed significantly to Israel's success in the famed Six Day war of 1967. His widow and three children, along with Eli's brothers and sister, were seated with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Foreign Minister, Sylvan Shalom and Education Minister, Limor Livnat, each of whom spoke during the event, promising every effort to bring Eli Cohen's remains back to Israel from Syria for a proper Jewish burial in the homeland he served so well.

Hundreds of IDF soldiers were included in the audience and were no doubt inspired by the legacy of Eli Cohen. When Prime Minister Sharon got up to speak, there was a brief interruption as Anti- Disengagement protestors stood to their feet and started to shout "Jews don't expel Jews". They were quickly escorted out of the convention hall.

The evening was brought to a close with the singing of the "Hatikva", Israel's national anthemn, led by a superb choir of young people accompanied by the thousands of voices in the audience. I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to participate in an event that portrayed an Israeli hero at his best. May Eli Cohen's legacy continue to inspire and motivate all of Israel to stand strong and defend this beloved country.

Schindler Museum to Open in Poland – July 3, 2005

Lekerev Report - It was announced Friday that the factory where Oskar Schindler shielded more than 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust is to be turned into a museum commemorating the German industrialist, whose life was made famous in Stephen Spielberg's film. Since the 1993 release of the Academy Award- winning "Schindler's List," tourists to Krakow have sought out the factory where Schindler kept the emaciated Jews, claiming their work was essential to the survival of his metal works factory. The prisoners produced enameled pots and pans, and later munitions for the German army.

The Ministry of Culture and city of Krakow have earmarked USD 1.2 million for the museum project, which is to be completed by the end of the year, ministry spokeswoman Halina Pijanowska said. "This is a story which needs to be documented; it's part of Krakow history," Aleksander Janicki, a local artist designing the project, said. "Everyone has seen 'Schindler's List,' and they want to come and see the place," he said. "It's a natural place for such a museum." Schindler spent his fortune feeding the Jews he saved from the Nazi death camps. He emigrated to Argentina with his wife, Emilie, after World War II, but returned to Germany in 1958, where he died in 1974. He was buried in Jerusalem at his own request. Emilie died in 2001. May their memories be blessed forever for what they did to save Jewish people.

Sabbatean Jews and Globalist Israel

Probe sought on Gaza evacuation – Sharon accused of hatching plan to thwart criminal investigation – June 19, 2005

WorldNetDaily - A Knesset member today requested Israel's attorney general probe claims made in a newly released book that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon introduced his plan to evacuate Jewish communities from Gaza and parts of the West Bank to divert public attention from criminal investigations that threatened his premiership last year, WND has learned. "I have sent a formal request letter to Israel's attorney general [Meni Mazuz] asking him to investigate the prime minister because of the revelations in the book that prove Sharon is corrupt. We know exactly who are the people involved in the scandal, what they did, so there needs to be an immediate investigation," National Union leader Uri Ariel told WND.

Ariel was referring to a book released last week by two veteran Israeli journalists charging the Gaza withdrawal plan was created to avoid Sharon's indictment in the Greek Island scandal, an investigation into the transfer to Sharon's family of $580,000 by developer David Appel, who was accused of soliciting Sharon's help with business deals. If Sharon had been charged in the affair, he would have been forced to resign his post as prime minister. The book's authors, Raviv Drucker of Israel's Channel Ten TV and Ofer Shelach of the Yediot Acharonot daily, claim Sharon was convinced then-State Prosecutor Edna Arbel would indict him in the scandal, and had to create a situation that would make an indictment politically difficult. They also say the specifics of the disengagement plan were hatched without the input of defense officials, Knesset members or Sharon's own Cabinet, and further charge Sharon asked a top general in the Israeli Defense Forces to be a "plant" and report to him on the goings-on in the general staff.

Drucker and Shelach say they based their findings on first-person accounts from individuals "very close to the prime minister." In an interview with Israel's Channel Two last week, the two journalists said Sharon's fear of indictment drove him to introduce the withdrawal plan. "The people who are closest to Sharon told us absolutely that if it wasn't for those police interrogations, this decision [to quit Gaza] would not have been made. This can be seen by the timetable of events," said Shelach in response to a question.

He outlined the charges of the Arbel investigation, a summons to Sharon for police interrogation regarding Appel's money transfer, the reports Arbel was about to indict Sharon, the appointment of Mazuz as attorney general, and a meeting of what they called the Farm Forum – Sharon, his sons and one or two others very close to the Prime Minister – at which they claim the Gaza withdrawal was originally hatched.

The Farm Forum "did not state it outright," Drucker said, "but it was in the air that something had to be done, that there had to be some major diplomatic process that would swallow up everything and would change the public agenda [away from the corruption headlines against Sharon] – and they came up with this plan."

Drucker, outlining the book, said top Sharon-aide Dov Weisglass laid the foundations for the disengagement plan in a private meeting with then-White House National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice in December 2003. "In December '03, after Sharon's Herzliya speech introducing the disengagement concept but when this plan was still very vague – in fact, Sharon was still asking the defense minister and the chief of staff what they thought about taking down just one or two communities – Weisglass goes to Washington all by himself – without his Military Secretary Moshe Kaplinsky or National Security Advisor Giora Eiland, who usually accompany him – and speaks to then-U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice privately. "Very senior army officials told us that this was the trip in which Weisglass made the following offer: in the first stage, we would quit Gaza, in the second stage there would be a deep withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, and in the third stage we'd even be willing to talk about the '67 lines."

Drucker and Shelach charged those in the army and government who could have helped formulate the plan were left out of the decision-making process. "[National Security Advisor] Giora Eiland was in the midst of preparing a plan as to how Israel could get some benefit from its withdrawal," they said, "when suddenly he was presented with this new [unilateral] plan – and even now he objects to the plan [as it now stands]." Continued Drucker: "Sharon wanted only to survive politically. Weisglass led the whole plan. In October 2003, before the plan had started, Weisglass asked staffers in the Prime Minister's Bureau for data on Gaza because he said he felt we had to withdraw from Gaza. Sharon did not yet agree then – but he would come around later. At that time, Weisglass also started spreading hints to other people that if Sharon didn't agree to this plan, he would end up leaving the political arena as an 'insignificant old man.' Weisglass also started pressuring [Defense Minister Shaul] Mofaz at this time. But more than anything – Weisglass felt that he had the right key to persuade Sharon. ... "The important thing to note is that from that moment, there is no contact with those elements who were supposed to help Sharon decide about the plan, figure out what Israel would get in return, and help Israel get the best deal it could. And from that moment, the plan essentially rolls along on its own."

The two journalists go on to claim Sharon asked a top IDF general to be a mole in the army's General Staff Office, but refused to name the official. "The general himself told us that Sharon asked him to agree to report back to him on the goings-on in the General Staff. ... All along, Sharon was unhappy with the army, and always tried to form direct channels of communication [in this way]," they said. They said many top defense officials, including Mofaz, Intelligence Chief Ze'evi-Farkash, and others, originally opposed the evacuation plan. "Several months before Sharon's adoption of the Disengagement Plan, there was a deliberation amidst the top brass of the IDF in the presence of the chief of staff. Many options were presented. One of the options was unilateral disengagement from Gaza. There was unanimous agreement regarding the idea: absolutely no. Mofaz said at the beginning, 'Whoever supports a unilateral retreat, apparently wasn't here for the last two and a half years,' and Farkash said it would be a catastrophe, and the head of IDF Research said it would be the worst thing ... but after several months, when they saw that Sharon was so strongly in favor, they amazingly all fell in line and backed it."

In June 2004, after the withdrawal plan had gained considerable momentum, Attorney General Mazuz announced there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute Sharon. Both Sharon's and Mazuz's offices could not be reached for comment before press time. It is not immediately clear whether Mazuz will open an investigation into the charges outlined in the book. Ariel told WND, "[If Mazuz does not open an investigation] I will bring the case to the high court."

Sharon's Gaza evacuation plan has drawn criticism from many in his government, with several ministers of his own Likud Party, including Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, opposing the plan. Critics worry the withdrawal will be seen as a reward for Palestinian terrorism and argue territories evacuated by Israel will be used by Hamas to stage attacks against the Jewish state. Netanyahu, in a WND interview earlier this month, said, "Palestinian terrorists don't view our departure [from Gaza] as a reasonable move but as a flight from terror and a sign that terrorism works. If you flee from terror, then terror continues to chase you. This plan simply emboldens the terrorists to continue their tactics until the completion of their ultimate goal: the destruction of Israel."

Update June 20: Reached this morning for comment, Raanan Gissin, senior adviser to Sharon, told WND: "This book is all a big lie. You'll look at the dates involved and the events and you'll see it's all a big lie. We're not worried."

Bank Leumi Forgave 600,000 NIS of Sharon´s Debts - July 3, 2005

Lekerev Report - The Marker, a Hebrew-language website reporting on business news in Israel, reports today that the erasure of the debt took place in 1996, when Sharon was appointed Minister of National Infrastructures - a newly-created post - in the government of Binyamin Netanyahu.

The Sharon-family farm owed some three million shekels at the time, and the bank erased a debt of about 20% of that sum - amounts that had piled up in interest and bank fees. Banking sources say that banks often erase such debts for financial customers, but that the wiping out of such a large proportion of the original debt is definitely uncommon.

The Shikmim Farm's 3-million shekel debt is the basis of the Sharon-Cyril Kern scandal that the police are currently investigating. Kern allegedly gave the Sharon family an illegal donation to pay off the debt.

Just last week, Prime Minister Sharon decided to overrule the decision by Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to distribute Bank Leumi shares to the public, free of charge. Instead, Sharon decided that controlling interest in the bank will be sold. This latter plan was worked on for several months, costing the public much money. Sharon was not the only one who objected, however; Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fisher was among those who opposed Netanyahu's plan.

Bank Leumi's decision to erase the Sharons' debts departed from custom in that it was made without an official legal-financial advisory.

Bank Leumi responded to the reports by saying it does not issue public pronouncements on its customers' accounts. The Marker reported that it had not received a response from the Prime Minister's Bureau by press time.

First-Hand Testimony: "Sharon Beat Up Etzel Fighters" – June 28, 2005

"Sharon would go around with his shovel-handle against us," says Ben-Ami Zamir, who says Sharon struck him in his head - putting in a different light Sharon's warnings about "civil war."

Just two months ago, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told NBC that Israel is on the brink of a civil-war disaster. "The tension here, the atmosphere here looks like the eve of the civil war," he said. "All my life I was defending the lives of Jews. Now, for the first time, security steps are taken to protect me from Jews."

Revelations by a former Etzel [nationalist army organization] member show that this is not quite true. Ben-Ami Zamir says that Sharon was involved in violence against nationalist Jews during pre-State days, and was forced to run away to protect himself.

The NBC interview promoted the perception that "Jewish settlers" are the main threat to stability in the Middle East. "Israelis are bracing for a violent summer," the narrator opened, "but it's not the Palestinians they are worried about - it’s the Jewish settlers."

Knesset Members from both left and right said that Sharon's remarks about a "civil war" atmosphere and his need for protection from Jews are incendiary and provocative.

Extreme left-wing MK Zahava Gal'on (Meretz/Yahad) accused Sharon of "making cheap and provocative use of threats of civil war." Former Justice Minister Tommy Lapid of the left-wing Shinui Party said, "Remarks like these by the Prime Minister cause more extremism and tension, instead of calming things down. I don't think that such dangers exist."

MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union), a resident of Gush Katif and one of Sharon's most bitter opponents, said, "Sharon is a liar. He knows that the only one who can lead to a civil war is he himself."

Hendel's words received strong backing this week - from a man who himself suffered from Sharon's ideological-based violence. It occurred during the period known as the Saison of the mid-1940's, when left-wing Haganah activists pursued and beat up nationalist Etzel and Lechi activists, and others even turned them over to the hated ruling British forces.

Speaking with Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen, Ben-Ami Zamir, who is today a member of the Likud Party Bureau, gave the following harrowing account:

"I was given the mission of establishing an Etzel cell in our moshavah [townlet] of Magdiel, and I did so. I gathered some youths in our cafe, and I would often give shelter to Etzel men who needed to hide from the British police. Everyone knew everyone, and it was known that I was an Etzel man, as were all my neighbors; residents of the surrounding moshavim were rival Haganah people."

One of these towns was Kfar Malal, home to young Ariel "Arik" Sharon. "One Motzaei Shabbat [Saturday night], a truck arrived at the cafe, and out of it jumped a group of uniformed Haganah men, led by Ariel Sharon holding a hoe-handle. We knew him in the area as someone who always holds a hoe-handle to catch Etzel and Lechi people. They tried to break into the cafe, which was still closed because of the Sabbath. I came close to him, and he said, 'Give me some soda,' and pointed to a box of drinks on the ground. I bent down to the bottles, and then he picked up his arm and smashed me with all his might with the hoe-handle. My head was covered in blood, which dripped down all over me."

Zamir said that a fight ensued, and "for ten minutes, they destroyed everything they could... The next morning, I went to the Sharon home... His mother came out, saw me all bandaged up and immediately realized what was going on. I asked where Arik was, and she said he wasn't home. I said that if I would see him, I would get him. Later people in Kfar Malal told me that he was afraid to go home. We didn't see him again in Magdiel."

Zamir said that this was not the only violent incident against Etzel people in which Sharon was involved. He noted specifically the case of someone named Hayuma, who died six months ago, whose arm was broken by Sharon's gang.

Zamir's story was publicized 15 years ago by Yediot Acharonot reporter Shlomo Nakdimon. That article also quoted similar testimony by Etzel member Daniel Basamnik. "Sharon threatened to sue [following Nakdimon's article]," Zamir told Arutz-7's Cohen, "but for his own reasons decided not to."

Not long ago, Zamir met Sharon at a Likud gathering at the party's headquarters in Metzudat Ze'ev. "Sharon passed me," Zamir said, "and I told him that he would be remembered in history as a traitor. I said that apparently only when a shell lands in his own farm, will he understand what he's doing."

Cohen said that no response to his inquiries on these accusations had been received from the Prime Minister's Bureau by press time.

Just today, Mr. Sharon issued a call against violence in response to threats received by Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz. "Everything must be done to stop the violence of a small minority of the settlers," he said today. Apparently unaware of the old/new accusations against him, Sharon said that the Land of Israel faithful living in the Maoz HaYam Hotel in Gush Katif are "vocal and dangerous," as well as "law-breaking."

New Book: Disengagement Rooted in Sharon´s Fear of Prosecution – June 16, 2005

Two veteran journalists, based on talks with persons very close to the Prime Minister, say that the Disengagement Plan was hatched up simply to avoid Sharon's indictment in the Greek Island scandal.

Israel National News - Journalists Raviv Drucker of Channel Ten TV and Ofer Shelach of Yediot Acharonot newspaper appeared on Nissim Mishal's Channel Two television program last night, and summarized the results of their research. The main findings:

· The evacuation plan was born because Sharon was sure that then-State Prosecutor Edna Arbel would indict him.

· The decisions on the disengagement plan were made by marginalizing the army people, and without the participation of the ministers and the Cabinet.

· Sharon proposed to one of the army's top generals that he be a "plant" and report to him on the goings-on in the General Staff.

Click here to view the 7-minute Channel Two TV segment - in Hebrew (or right click and select "Save Target As…" to download)

Drucker and Shelach said that Sharon's fear of State Prosecutor Arbel was a determining factor in making this plan. "If not for the interrogations, this historic decision would not have been made," they said. "This can be seen by the timetable of events in February 2004" - the appointment of Gen. Eiland to begin working on the plan, the appointment of Meni Mazuz as Attorney General, a summons to Sharon for police interrogation, the rumors that Arbel was about to indict him, and finally the meeting of the Farm Forum [Sharon, his sons and one or two others very close to the Prime Minister]. This Farm Forum "did not state it outright," Drucker said, "but it was in the air that something had to be done, that there had to be some major diplomatic process that would swallow up everything and would change the public agenda [away from the corruption headlines against Sharon] - and they came up with this plan."

Drucker and Shelach further found that top Sharon-aide Dov Weisglass (pictured) led the way in preparing the disengagement plan, particularly in a private meeting with Condoleeza Rice in December 2003, and that those in the army and government who could have helped improve the plan for Israel were left out of the decision-making loop. "[National Security Advisor] Giora Eiland was in the midst of preparing a plan as to how Israel could get some benefit from its withdrawal," they said, "when suddenly he was presented with this new [unilateral] plan - and even now he objects to the plan [as it now stands]."

Narrator Nissim Mishal noted that the image of Prime Minister Sharon as depicted in the new book, entitled Boomerang, does not jibe with the common perception of him as strong and determined. "Instead," he said, "your book portrays him as one who is scared of police interrogations and led along by the Farm Forum and [top Sharon-aide] Duby Weisglass." Raviv Drucker responded, "We too were surprised by what we found. One government minister told us, 'This is the weakest Prime Minister I have seen, and I have seen many Prime Ministers.' The point is that Sharon is very strong at enforcing his decisions, but is weak at making decisions; he has no spine of his own today, and the best example of this is Duby Weisglass and the disengagement plan... "Sharon wanted only to survive politically. Weisglass led the whole plan. In October 2003, before the plan had started, Weisglass asked staffers in the Prime Minister's Bureau for data on Gaza because he said he felt we had to withdraw from Gaza. Sharon did not yet agree then - but he would come around later. At that time, Weisglass also started spreading hints to other people that if Sharon didn't agree to this plan, he would end up leaving the political arena as an 'insignificant old man.' Weisglass also started pressuring [Defense Minister Sha'ul] Mofaz at this time. But more than anything - Weisglass felt that he had the right key to persuade Sharon."

Drucker's colleague Ofer Shelach continued: "When Sharon arrived in office, he didn't know what to do; he was great in tactics, but had no strategy - not on the personal level, and not on the diplomatic-international level. He just doesn’t know what to do. Don't forget: after two years in office, he finds himself - the great terror-fighter Arik Sharon - with the highest amount of terror victims ever. And Weisglass - together with the Farm Forum, but mainly Weisglass - takes advantage of this to lead Sharon [by the nose]... "In December '03, after Sharon's Herzliya speech introducing the disengagement concept but when this plan was still very vague - in fact, Sharon was still asking the Defense Minister and the Chief of Staff what they thought about taking down just one or two communities - Weisglass goes to Washington all by himself - without his Military Secretary Moshe Kaplinsky or National Security Advisor Giora Eiland, who usually accompany him - and speaks to then-U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice privately. Very senior army officials told us that this was the trip in which Weisglass made the following offer: In the first stage, we would quit Gaza, in the second stage there would be a deep withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, and in the third stage we'd even be willing to talk about the '67 lines. "The important thing to note is that from that moment, there is no contact with those elements who were supposed to help Sharon decide about the plan, figure out what Israel would get in return, and help Israel get the best deal it could. And from that moment, the plan essentially rolls along on its own."

In answer to a question, Shelach said, "The people who are closest to Sharon told us absolutely that if it wasn't for those police interrogations, this decision [to quit Gaza] would not have been made. This can be seen by the timetable of events..."Shelach and Drucker revealed that Sharon sought out a top IDF general to be a mole in the IDF General Staff. The authors refused to divulge the name of the general whom Sharon asked to be his "plant." They said, "The general himself told us that Sharon asked him to agree to report back to him on the goings-on in the General Staff... All along, Sharon was unhappy with the army, and always tried to form direct channels of communication [in this way]..."

They said that many top officers, such as former Chief of Staff Mofaz, Intelligence Chief Ze'evi-Farkash, and others, were originally very much against the disengagement plan. "Several months before Sharon's adoption of the Disengagement Plan, there was a deliberation amidst the top brass of the IDF in the presence of the Chief of Staff. Many options were presented. One of the options was unilateral disengagement from Gaza. There was unanimous agreement regarding the idea: absolutely no. Mofaz said at the beginning, 'Whoever supports a unilateral retreat, apparently wasn't here for the last two and a half years,' and Farkash said it would be a catastrophe, and the head of IDF Research said it would be the worst thing... but after several months, when they saw that Sharon was so strongly in favor, they amazingly all fell in line and backed it...""We have a very biting claim," Drucker concluded. "In the past four and a half years, there were many opportunities to end or change the course of the intifada, but because of the way decisions were made, these chances were missed, and the bottom line - it's terrible to say - is that there were many people who were killed [by terrorists during the Oslo War] in vain."

Shteinitz: Gov´t is Misleading Us Regarding Egypt - June 23, 2005

The Chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Likud MK Shteinitz, says the gov't is "misleading the nation" regarding its plans to allow Egyptian soldiers to deploy in Sinai.

Shteinitz has long led what is practically a one-man crusade against the plans to allow Egyptian forces to patrol along and near the Philadelphi Route between Gaza and Egypt. He has long warned that the agreement is "bad and dangerous" and that it "will harm Israeli security and destabilize the peace between Egypt and Israel."

It has long been reported that Israel and Egypt have agreed on the placement of 750 Egyptian soldiers along the 14-kilometer Philadelphi Route. Their job will be mainly to ensure that no weapons are smuggled from Egypt into Gaza. Over the past months, thousands of rifles and even some rocket launchers have been smuggled into Judea and Samaria via that route - leading many IDF sources to believe that the terrorists are preparing a post-disengagement war.

However, the deployment of Egyptian forces in the Sinai is a violation of the peace treaty signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979. The legal counsel of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Miri Frankel-Shorr, has prepared a legal opinion stating that because the treaty was ratified by the Knesset, any violation of it must similarly receive Knesset approval.

Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz and Associate Prime Minister Shimon Peres have offered a "compromise" proposal to Egypt, which was reportedly accepted. No details have been forthcoming on its nature, though Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reported on it to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this week.

Sharon said that the treaty is not being abrogated: "The Sinai will continue to be demilitarized. All we're doing is switching 750 soldiers who are doing nothing with soldiers who can do the job."

"The legal opinion submitted to the committee," Shteinit says, "states that even if one Egyptian soldier is allowed into the Sinai, this is a material change in the peace agreement and must be ratified by the Knesset."

Almost a full year ago, U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos of California, the ranking Democrat in the House International Relations Committee, warned that Egypt was building up its military in preparation for a future war with Israel. He proposed legislation last year to convert half of the $1.3 billion Egypt receives annually in U.S. military aid to economic aid - but the bill was turned down in the House of Representatives. He even announced plans to phase out military aid to Egypt altogether.

"Egyptian military exercises are ominously geared toward an Israeli enemy that doesn't obviously exist," he said at the time. He added that Egypt's threatening behavior is "a policy choice of the Mubarak regime. Lantos also pointed out that Egypt supplemented its navy last year with 11 new battle units, in addition to other weapons procurements.

Israeli military sources have reported that Egyptian war games consistently feature the IDF as the enemy force.

Author Stands By Claim: Withdrawal Due to Sharon Corruption - June 21, 2005

The co-author of a book alleging that fear of indictment led Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to decide to carry out the Disengagement Plan says an unelected circle of people are running Israel.

Israel National News - Ofer Shelach, together with fellow left-wing journalist and commentator Raviv Drucker, has just published Boomerang, an insider's narrative of the backroom goings-on that led to a prime minister defying the platform upon which he was elected and his determined pushing through of a political plan despite its overwhelming rejection by the members of his own Likud party. Shelach (pronounced with a guttural "kh") spoke with Israel National Radio's Eli Stutz on Monday about why he wrote the book, how he obtained the information for it, and why decided to publish it on the eve of implementation of the Disengagement Plan. "Why now?" Shelach was asked, with the implication being that the revelations on the reasoning for the expulsion plan could have made a difference had they been publicized earlier. "It is simple," he responded. "We have been working for three years on a book that covers the whole of the Intifada - all the fighting that has been going on for almost five years. The chapters on disengagement are only three chapters out of 28 in the whole book. Of course, because disengagement is very much in the news right now, those passages from the book [dealing with it] were taken out and presented, but that was not the purpose or goal of the book. We just completed it now."

The authors did not intend for the book to be an expose of the scandalous roots of the Disengagement Plan. Shelach says that the book was intended to demonstrate to the Israeli people that the government had several windows of opportunity in which it could have ended the Arab terror offensive and failed to do so due to the flawed nature of the government. "What we did in the book is this: We present about five or six possible turning points since September 2000, the way the fighting was presented to the Israeli people, the way various powers-that-were acted and the decisions they took at several key points along the way." "For example," said Shelach, "after 9/11, once the effect of 9/11 was fully understood by Arafat, he told his people to stop the violence. The tide began to turn, but then certain events happened, culminating in the targeted killing of a terrorist leader in the West Bank that prevented the tide from turning. I want to be clear about this. We are not blaming the Israelis for what happened. The Palestinians are also to blame - maybe more to blame, but this book aimed to examine the way the Israeli leadership works - the way the military works vis-a-vis the political leadership and vice versa." "If you asked Ariel Sharon in 2001, if four years later he would lead Israel to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip, build a fence that precludes 94% of the West Bank and watch almost helplessly as Hamas becomes the leading force in Palestinian society - all the while calling this a victory - he would have looked at you like you were crazy," Shelach said.

The veteran journalist says that the material on Sharon's involvement in the Greek Island scandal and its connection with his decision to withdraw became available only recently. "In the last couple of months, a lot of things started to come out of the woodwork," he said. "Maybe it is because disengagement is just around the corner, maybe it is because people are less busy now protecting their own skin and are realizing that there is going to be historical judgement on this." What he found over the past months of speaking to the people close to Sharon was repeated stories of the tight-knit "Farm Forum" - consisting of the Sharon family and their confidantes - making critical decision without any regard for government procedure, and behind the backs of the military. "A lot of things are starting to come out showing the whole confused, disorderly process culminating in the disengagement plan," Shelach said. "For example, the whole military was purposely cut off from the entire process of planning the Disengagement Plan. It was led by Sharon and his close unelected circle. By law, in Israel, the Commander in Chief of the army is not just the prime minister, but rather the entire government. But [in fact] the government - and some of the ministers quite willingly - was not a part of the disengagement decision making process."

"What we are saying is that Sharon was at a dead end by the end of 2003. After the fall of Abu Mazen as Palestinian prime minister [under Arafat], it was obvious that the whole idea of imposing someone on Arafat was ridiculous - that it wouldn't work. You have to remember who Ariel Sharon is. In his own mind, he is the person whose life's mission is to protect Israelis and Jews in general and there he was, the prime minister in whose term more Israelis lost their lives in terrorist actions than under any other prime minister. There he was without a plan, and there he was with his legal troubles. And then his close allies, led by Dov Weisglas, told him, 'You have got to do something big or else you will go down in history as a failing prime minister. You have to do something big to give hope to the public.'"

"Nobody says this [outright], but we heard from people very close in the inner circle that behind all this, of course, was, 'If you don't do this you will also go down because of your legal troubles.' We don't have a smoking gun on this. There is no smoking gun or paper in which Sharon or somebody wrote down, 'You have to do this or you are going to be indicted' - but it is part of a whole story. We are talking about people getting together and saying things like 'This week a new attorney general is coming into office, we have got to do something big.' "Shelach says he hopes people will read what he has written and judge for themselves whether it affects the way they view the Disengagement Plan. "We are showing people how these things came about," he said. "It is up to people to judge whether this was right or wrong."

Sharon on Record: Sinai Precedent Was a Mistake - June 28, 2005

Prime Minister Sharon is on record as saying that the evacuation of the Jewish towns in Sinai was a mistake in that they led to talk of evacuation of other towns in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Golan.

Israel National News - Eleven years ago, on the 12th anniversary of Israel's pullout from the Sinai and the expulsion of the Jewish residents there, Arutz-7 interviewed Ariel Sharon - the man who is most closely associated with that evacuation. He said that in light of the developments since then - which included at the time only the "consideration" of dismantling Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza - "it was a grave mistake to dismantle the Jewish communities in Sinai." The then-Knesset Member also explained why a withdrawal from Gaza, Samaria or Judea would be totally unacceptable.

Excerpts from the interview with Ariel Sharon in 1994: Arutz-7: "MK Sharon, some of the public remembers you - possibly to your consternation - as the man who evacuated Yamit [the lone city among the Jewish communities in Sinai]. Can you take us back to this day 12 years ago? Where were you, what did you do?"
Sharon: "First of all, I would like to note that it was very hard to leave Sinai, an area in which we fought during the Six Day War, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War, and an area whose landscapes we came to know and love, and of course an area that gave Israel great strategic depth. It was especially painful to evacuate the communities and their residents. This was very painful. We made great efforts with the Egyptians to retain these areas, but it was impossible to do this and at the same time to make peace with them; we tried many other avenues, including an exchange of territory, but these did not succeed. On the one hand it was very sad, but it also aroused not a small amount of jealousy to see how the Egyptians related to their land as a sacred value..."

A-7: "Your formulation at the time was, 'Peace in exchange for territory" - something we are hearing now as well [in the framework of the then-six-month-old Oslo agreement, to which Sharon and the Likud strongly objected - ed. note]."
Sharon: "I think it is very hard to compare that which occurred in Sinai, or what we could have done then, with what we face now. Sinai was a land far from our population centers, and we were able to reach an agreement that an area 200 kilometers wide would remain demilitarized forever. In addition, we signed an agreement with a sovereign country that controls its territory - and not with a terrorist organization that cannot and does not want to control terror organizations, nor even its own internal factions that continue to employ terrorism... In addition, Egypt had no other territorial demands [other than what we gave them], and this is different than the present situation."

It is noteworthy that each of the four points Sharon made in comparing the Sinai agreement with the Oslo Accords work to the detriment of the Disengagement/Expulsion plan he is now pushing forward with full force:
* Gaza is very close to Israeli population centers.
* No agreement on demilitarization has been reached.
* No agreement has been signed with a sovereign country; in fact, no agreement is to be signed at all!
* The entity that is to take control of the area still has major territorial demands upon Israel.

Sharon repeated, in the 1994 interview, his firm stance that Israel must not withdraw from the Golan, Judea, Samaria or Gaza, adding, "Every leaving of a Jewish community is a most difficult thing." He then said, "I would also like to note now and emphasize again, in light of the government's attempt to use the precedent of Sinai as a precedent for what it wants to do now in Judea and Samaria regarding the dismantling of Jewish communities - [this] shows that it was a grave mistake to make this decision [in Sinai] about the dismantling of Jewish communities, because we see what this leads to... In my opinion, in light of what has developed, it was very hard there [in the negotiations in 1982 with Egypt], but no one ever thought that an Israeli government would arise that would use the precedent of Sinai, in totally different circumstances, to justify the dismantling of Jewish communities in the Golan or Judea/Samaria or Gaza. In light of this, I must say that we made a mistake in this area [Sharon emphasized this clearly - ed.], if this is what it has led to. Of course, if there would have been a different government today, it would not have made similar decisions."

Likud Leader: Sharon Wants to Take Over Jewish Nation's Assets - June 20, 2005

Sam Schachter, former Deputy Chairman of the World Likud Organization, says that if Boomerang's allegations are true, "Ariel Sharon should be tried for misleading and endangering the nation."

Israel National News - Speaking with Arutz-7's Elkanah Perl, Schachter emphasized both the corruption and high-handed methods of Sharon and his close cronies, and the dearth of accurate information available to Israel-supporters in the U.S. "The voice of those who oppose the disengagement plan is not heard the way it should be amongst U.S. Jewry," Schachter said. "There is a feeling here as if Sharon is the great savior of Israel, because he's a great general who knows exactly what he's doing... I myself received the information about Boomerang just from friends in Israel, but nothing was mentioned in any newspaper. Only those who follow Arutz-7 know [this], but aside from that, there's nothing - and that's the problem. It's important that this news is publicized in the U.S. in order to strengthen those who are fighting for the Land of Israel and to have people get to know the facts."

To this end, it should be noted that Aviv Mizrachi, a strong expulsion opponent currently living in Los Angeles, reported that 50,000 copies of an anti-disengagement CD were recently handed out in New York and Los Angeles. He, too, agreed that the next step was to turn these many individual voices of opposition to the retreat into a concerted public voice that will be heard in the U.S. media and in Washington, D.C. Schachter said that he raised concerns of Sharon's corruption several months ago in a letter to the members of the Likud Central Committee. He said that he himself was deposed from his leading World Likud organization position "when [Sharon's son MK] Omri came to power and amassed power... Omri led the Central Committee members astray, and in the meanwhile has succeeded in appointing those close to him...""You have to look at the whole picture, and then you can understand what's going on," Schachter said. "Just like we see Sharon is objecting to Sharansky [as the Likud's candidate for Jewish Agency Chairman. Sharansky in fact received the nomination - ed.], and he is also trying to take over the Lands Authority - trying to take over all of the Jewish People's assets. People don't understand what's going on. Sharon and his son are against Sharansky because they know he is an honest man who won't allow them to continue running things corruptly..."

Schachter demands that a public commission of inquiry be established "to check whether the authors of Boomerang were accurate - and if so, Sharon should be put on trial for misleading and endangering the nation, and the country should shake him off. Every normal nation would do this, if the corruption allegations are correct. We saw in Ukraine how the nation protested massively and silently until the government resigned... "It's inconceivable that the nation should be endangered merely in order to purify his corruption. The media are sabotaging the transmission of the message to the world, and therefore the people must bring this message. It's important that the disquiet in Israel be announced to the world."

Schachter also decried the relative lack of freedom to express one's anti-disengagement opinions in Israel. "In the U.S. you can certainly express your opinion as long as you don't hurt someone else, but in Israel if you express your opinion, you could be fired, and there's a chance you'll be put under administrative detention." Schachter said that American Jews underestimate Israel's need for strategic depth: "They think that Israel is strong and can defend itself, and therefore they don't realize that Israel needs land in order to protect itself. You need a buffer zone, and not war inside the citizens' homes."

In August of 2004, Schachter told Arutz-7,
"The Likud members must wake up, otherwise the Likud will be liquidated by Sharon and his group of supporters, who are not even members of the Nationalist Movement. Mr. Olmert, for instance, who might very well be a Shinui Party leader in the next election. He [as Mayor of Jerusalem] abandoned Jerusalem; he did nothing about our hundreds of complaints of illegal Arab construction in the city... "Why is the Prime Minister turning the Likud into the [left-wing] Mapai? The Likud people must wake up before the Prime Minister breaks the nation's spirit. Statements by Sharon and by [Shabak head Avi] Dichter that the right-wing is extremist and dangerous break the nation's spirit - it reminds me very much of the Saison period [in the 1940's] when I [as a member of the Etzel] was persecuted by the Mapai leadership... "Sharon sent the settlers to the hilltops; why is he now persecuting them?... It is not due to American pressure... "I think that everyone who is concerned for the Jewish Nation's existence in the Land of Israel who does not wake up now, is abandoning his children and future generations."

Sharon Humiliated at the Knesset; New Elections? – June 15, 2005

Lekerev Report - Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) said yesterday that the government must call for early elections, following an embarrassing loss in not one, but three, no-confidence votes Tuesday. It is the first time the current government has lost three straight no- confidence votes; however, the majority necessary to topple government was not achieved. "As of today, (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon has support on only one issue - disengagement," said Rivlin. "Any normal parliament would now be asking not whether to dissolve parliament (and call early elections), but when to do it." Rivlin said Sharon has lost his political base, and that the government has lost the ability to win support for its policies, creating a situation in which there is "no choice" but to move up general elections, currently slated for late 2006.

Adding to Sharon's troubles, opposition leader Yosef Lapid (Shinui) told the prime minister Tuesday's vote was a sign of Sharon's "eroding power", at a time when the government must display a strong hand. "It will be hard (for Sharon) to carry out the (disengagement) program if there is a general feeling that the Knesset isn't behind him. Sharon admits he knows this and says he knows a solution must be found," said Lapid. "The prime minister must talk about his post-disengagement plans."

"It will be hard (for Sharon) to carry out the (disengagement) program if there is a general feeling that the Knesset isn't behind him. Sharon admits he knows this and says he knows a solution must be found," said Lapid.

After sitting through four hours of speeches by Knesset members vilifying his government, Sharon gave the last speech which was promptly rejected by the Knesset in a vote of 43 - 30. Sharon's days appear to be numbered.

Meanwhile, it is being reported here that American and British analysts agree that the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not survive the implementation phase of the Gaza/Shomron Disengagement plan. Aides to US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair feel that national elections will be forced within 12 months following the expulsion, if not sooner. They have come to the realization Sharon only succeeds in remaining in office presently by the grace of disengagement proponents.

On all counts, it certainly appears that Prime Minister Sharon's days are numbered.

Rivlin calls to disband government – June 14, 2005

Jerusalem Post - After a series humiliating if symbolic defeats for the government on Tuesday, when the opposition managed to pass three no-confidence measures, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin called to disband parliament and hold early elections to replace the government. The prime minister has lost his political base, Rivlin told Israel Radio, and any other parliament would immediately rule to hold early elections. "The opposition is a coalition, and the coalition is an opposition, and this government won't be able to pass anything other than the disengagment," Rivlin said.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, summoned to the Knesset Tuesday for a discussion on recent corruption episodes, said the current public anti-corruption campaign was aimed solely at "smearing the Likud" as the source of all ills. But the Knesset rejected his position in a 43-30 vote. Only six Labor MKs backed Sharon, with the rest skipping the vote. Before the vote on Sharon's speech, the opposition won a symbolic victory in three no-confidence motions. A regular majority was mustered in all three votes, with the heaviest defeat, of 37-34, in a Shas motion on rising violence. Since 61 MKs must support a no-confidence motion for it to topple the government, the motions all failed.

However, the small number of Sharon supporters signaled the reality of his shattered parliamentary power base on all issues other than disengagement. Shas leader Eli Yishai said that if the government could not even muster a regular majority it had "no right to exist." Sharon said he was confident that the campaign against political corruption, which he said was initiated by Ma'ariv to "smear the Likud," would fail. He said there was a false campaign being waged that presented the Likud central committee as the source of all evils in the nation and that it was aimed at "undermining the democratic decision" of the people.

Sharon said the country was ruled by law, and that the law enforcement authorities had been instructed to fight against all corruption. "The Likud party is bound by the same laws as other parties," he said. Yahad's Zehava Gal-On, who initiated the discussion, said political corruption was "running wild" and without hindrance, as the disengagement plan moved forward. According to Gal-On, examples of corruption included political appointments and kickbacks, government financing and support for illegal settlements, and putting lawmakers above the law.

In an attack on the Labor Party, Michael Eitan (Likud) criticized former prime minister Ehud Barak for "daring to become a candidate" for the Labor leadership when his previous campaign staff had "invoked the right to silence" in a previous investigation into alleged illegal party funding. Leader Yosef Lapid demanded that Sharon reveal his post-disengagement plans. "Where is this train heading?" he asked. Sharon reprimanded MKs for engaging in "slander" during the debate and expressed hope that the next Knesset debate would be cleaner. Only a few of the Likud MKs who oppose disengagement supported Sharon in the vote on corruption.

Rivlin Sees Gov´t Collapse Ahead – June 14, 2005

Knesset Speaker Rivlin, a long-time friend and oft-time political ally of Ariel Sharon, predicts that the government's days are numbered. MK Benny Elon says Rivlin knows what he's talking about.

By Robert Mock MD

robertmock@biblesearchers.com

www.BibleSearchers.com

Rare Black Deer Born In Colorado – June 15, 2005