Focus On Jerusalem Newsroom

Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

Israel’s Rights to the “Disputed Territory”

Dec. 31….(Danny Ayalon/Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister) The recent statements by the European Union's new foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton criticizing Israel have once again brought international attention to Jerusalem and the settlements. However, little appears to be truly understood about Israel's rights to what are generally called the "occupied territories" but what really are "disputed territories." That's because the land now known as the West Bank cannot be considered "occupied" in the legal sense of the word as it had not attained recognized sovereignty before Israel's conquest. Contrary to some beliefs there has never been a Palestinian state, and no other nation has ever established Jerusalem as its capital despite it being under Islamic control for hundreds of years. The name "West Bank" was first used in 1950 by the Jordanians when they annexed the land to differentiate it from the rest of the country, which is on the east bank of the river Jordan. The boundaries of this territory were set only one year before during the armistice agreement between Israel and Jordan that ended the war that began in 1948 when five Arab armies invaded the nascent Jewish State. It was at Jordan's insistence that the 1949 armistice line became not a recognized international border but only a line separating armies. The Armistice Agreement specifically stated: "No provision of this Agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights, claims, and positions of either Party hereto in the peaceful settlement of the Palestine questions, the provisions of this Agreement being dictated exclusively by military considerations." (Italics added.) This boundary became the famous "Green Line," so named because the military officials during the armistice talks used a green pen to draw the line on the map. After the Six Day War, when once again Arab armies sought to destroy Israel and the Jewish state subsequently captured the West Bank and other territory, the United Nations sought to create an enduring solution to the conflict. UN Security Council Resolution 242 is probably one of the most misunderstood documents in the international arena. While many, especially the Palestinians, push the idea that the document demands that Israel return everything captured over the Green Line, nothing could be further from the truth. The resolution calls for "peace within secure and recognized boundaries," but nowhere does it mention where those boundaries should be. It is best to understand the intentions of the drafters of the resolution before considering other interpretations. Eugene V. Rostow, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs in 1967 and a drafter of the resolution, stated in 1990: "Security Council Resolution 242 and (subsequent UN Security Council Resolution) 338 rest on two principles, Israel may administer the territory until its Arab neighbors make peace; and when peace is made, Israel should withdraw to "secure and recognized borders," which need not be the same as the Armistice Demarcation Lines of 194." Lord Caradon, the British UN Ambassador at the time and the resolution's main drafter who introduced it to the Council, said in 1974 unequivocally that, "It would have been wrong to demand that Israel return to its positions of June 4, 1967, because those positions were undesirable and artificial." The US ambassador to the UN at the time, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, made the issue even clearer when he stated in 1973 that, "the resolution speaks of withdrawal from occupied territories without defining the extent of withdrawal." This would encompass "less than a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territory, inasmuch as Israel's prior frontiers had proven to be notably insecure." Even the Soviet delegate to the UN, Vasily Kuznetsov, who fought against the final text, conceded that the resolution gave Israel the right to "withdraw its forces only to those lines it considers appropriate." After the war in 1967, when Jews started returning to their historic heartland in the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria, as the territory had been known around the world for 2,000 years until the Jordanians renamed it, the issue of settlements arose. However, Rostow found no legal impediment to Jewish settlement in these territories. He maintained that the original British Mandate of Palestine still applies to the West Bank. He said "the Jewish right of settlement in Palestine west of the Jordan River, that is, in Israel, the West Bank, Jerusalem, was made unassailable. That right has never been terminated and cannot be terminated except by a recognized peace between Israel and its neighbors." There is no internationally binding document pertaining to this territory that has nullified this right of Jewish settlement since. And yet, there is this perception that Israel is occupying stolen land and that the Palestinians are the only party with national, legal and historic rights to it. Not only is this morally and factually incorrect, it is anti-Biblical.

Rabbis to US: Time to 'Go Biblical' With Arabs

Dec. 31….(IsraelNN.com) A delegation of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace (RCP) met with US Ambassador to Israel, Mr. James Cunningham, today and called for a reassessment of the entire US policy vis-à-vis the Israelis and Palestinians. The rabbis told Ambassador Cunningham that it was time to try the Biblical approach to the dispute over the Land of Israel. "The past 17 years have proven without a shadow of a doubt that every square inch ceded by Israel to the Palestinians was transformed into a platform of hatred and terrorism," RCP Director Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Lewin told the ambassador. "In other words, the 'land for peace' formula in the Israel-Palestinian context, besides being a formula that goes against the Divine will, is ineffective, obsolete, and an exercise in futility. Most of all it is a dangerous policy that only leads to bloodshed and instability in the region and harms vital American interests in the region as well," Lewin said.

The delegation was headed by Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky, Chairman of the RCP, who is also the Rabbi of Central Tel Aviv where the US embassy is located. "It's all a play of words, there is no peace process." Rabbi Gerlitzky presented the ambassador with the Halachic (Jewish legal) ruling signed by over 350 prominent rabbis in Israel that it is forbidden to give up even one inch of territory controlled by Israel today because it will bring bloodshed and instability to the region. "In the name of the overwhelming majority of rabbis in Israel," he said, "we request of you Mr. Ambassador, to convey our Halachic message to President Barack Obama that it is time for a complete reversal and reassessment of US policy in the Middle East. The 'land for peace' policy never worked and harms US interests in the region and the world at large." The ambassador was visibly moved by Rabbi Sholom Gold, a leading rabbi in Jerusalem, who described the suffering that the Jewish People have endured ever since the implementation of the Oslo Accords and the agreements that followed. "It's all a play of words, there is no peace process," he said. "From the day that we started conceding and withdrawing we did not have one day of rest and peace. Why should our enemies want to make peace with us when they see that with terrorism they get what they want? Even the US, Israel's supposedly best friend, sides with them in demanding a freeze and evacuation of settlements. Is the triumph of Arab terror one of American interests?" Gold asked. Rabbi Dov Lior, the Rabbi of Kiryat Arba-Hevron, said: "G-d gave the US the power and influence to affect the rest of the world and supporting Israel is the key to America's success." Rabbi Gerlitzky replied: "You must switch the entire approach to the situation. We all believe in the Holy Bible and up until now we tried every formula except for that which is delineated in the Bible. Let's try it and who knows, Mr. Ambassador, maybe this is your defining moment, that G-d Almighty has placed you in this capacity in order to precipitate a new course which will bring a true peace to the entire region."

Putin: US Missile Defense Shield is Troubling

Dec. 30….(Fox News) Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged Washington to provide Moscow with data about US missile defense developments as part of an information exchange under a new arms treaty. Putin's remarks carried by Russian news agencies signaled difficulties in talks between the two nations on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expired on Dec. 5. Moscow and Washington had hoped to strike a deal before the end of the year but problems persist. Putin's comments also showed that the former Russian president is continuing to shape Russian foreign policy, which under the constitution should be set by his successor, Dmitry Medvedev. Putin said that Russia is ready to provide the US with some data about its new missiles, but wants the US to share information about its missile defense plans in return. He said that the arms control talks were proceeding in a positive way and added that Medvedev and President Barack Obama will eventually decide whether to strike an arms deal. But Putin warned that a missile defense system would give the US an edge and could erode the deterrent value of Russia's nuclear forces. "The problem is that our American partners are developing missile defenses, and we are not," he said. "But the problems of missile defense and offensive weapons are closely linked. There could be a danger that our partners would feel totally safe after creating such an umbrella and would do what they want. After the balance is broken, they will become more aggressive." Obama removed a major irritant in relations earlier this year by scrapping the previous administration's plans to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, deployments Russia treated as a threat. The Kremlin has praised Obama for the decision, but Russian officials have also said they want to know details about what system the US will put in place instead. "They should give us information about the missile defense, and we will be ready to provide information about offensive weapons," Putin said. Russia had been pushing for an explicit link in the new treaty between offensive weapons and missile defense. A joint statement in July by Medvedev and Obama linked the two, but the US will be unlikely to accept any missile defense restrictions.

FOJ Note: Mr. Putin is exposing Russia’s intentions. While masquerading a concern about Russia’s offensive shortcomings, he is actually worried about America’s ability to defend itself against any potential missile attacks. Putin doesn’t mention any concern about defending Russia with a missile shield. Therefore, this nuclear missile debate reveals the fact that Russia is more concerned about having the capacity to penetrate America’s defenses than anything else.

Obama Ignoring Threat of Global Terrorist War

Dec. 30….(Newsmax) Hundreds of jihadists could potentially launch terrorist attacks against the United States in the coming years, says Walid Phares, a terrorism expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “It doesn’t surprise me that there are dozens and perhaps hundreds of jihadists who are potential suicide bombers, potential urban fighters who are going to be deployed against the US around the world. and of course within the US,” he told Kathleen Walter of Newsmax.TV. Phares’ most recent book is “The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad.” At 13, attempted terrorism attacks against the United States have risen exponentially this year, he says. “It’s important that the administration, as the president has said, needs to do a serious review of strategies against al-Qaida but also against home grown jihadists.” Phares says the administration is focusing mainly on security breaches, such as how a Nigerian terrorist was nearly able to bring down the plane headed for Detroit last week. “Security breaches are important,” Phares said. “But the real problem is much bigger than that. It is how and who is radicalizing these individuals.” Al-Qaida is watching us, he says. “They are analyzing every measure we develop and within a few months or years are able to create countermeasures, as we saw now.” The problem is that the Obama administration early this year denied the existence of a global war on jihadists outside of al-Qaida, Phares argues. “We are in confrontation with jihadists who could emerge in Yemen, link up with Nigerians who have activities in London or France and have connections with the radical imam in Yemen, who was linked with individuals who have penetrated our system as was the case I think in the Fort Hood massacre.” The administration needs to know “who is indoctrinating these young men and potentially women to become human missiles,” Phares said. “If we don’t go back to the roots of who is indoctrinating worldwide and in the US, we are going to see a lot of individuals who are going to try to bring down airliners, ships, buildings or operate as [Nidal Malik] Hasan did on a US military base.” Phares says al-Qaida’s central organization isn’t as strong on the ground as it was before the Afghanistan war began. But now the terrorist group has spread like a cancer, to Pakistan, Iraq, India and Yemen. Probably the biggest area of concern now is Africa, he says. “We must widen our attention,” Phares said. “What is it that the jihadist network is developing so that they can recruit and expand in numbers?” He notes that some of the recruiting takes place from liberal democracies and that jihadist have penetrated law enforcement agencies. “The problem now is to detect the mother ship,” Phares said. That’s “the pool of individuals who are spreading the ideology and are recruiting from that pool of indoctrinated individuals.” The Fort Hood attack and the airline attack may well be connected, he says. “If we see a lone wolf, it doesn’t mean that a pack of wolves doesn’t exist somewhere,” Phares said. “This is their weapon. They want us to believe that these individuals on their own are waging extremist warfare against the US, when in reality they are unleashing them. Al-Qaida has found a way to use individuals who have no real history of being on any of our lists and unleashing them against us.”

Iran Reels Toward Popular Counter-Revolution

Dec. 29….(DEBKAfile Exclusive Report) DEBKAfile's Iranian sources reveal that Mir Hossein Mousavi's nephew, Ali Habib, was not shot dead during a Tehran demonstration Sunday, Dec. 27, as reported, but waylaid and gunned down as he left his home. Fresh riots followed the disappearance of the body from the hospital Monday. The episode became even more ominous when Iran's security services chief Gen. Radan accused Mousavi of the murder to incite further violence. The opposition fears that the murder of Mousavi's nephew augurs physical liquidations of its leaders. The current upsurge of violence across Iran is the most dangerous yet because for the first time demonstrators are turning round to attack security forces, the Revolutionary Guardsmen and Basijj paramilitaries. Iranian sources report that the protesters are snatching their tormentors' nightsticks and other weapons as well as hurling firebombs. To fend off the furious masses, whose numbers are swelling into tens of thousands and more, security forces are firing live bullets and tear gas in the crowds since Sunday, Dec. 27. The death toll, admitted by the authorities as more than 15, is most likely in the 30-40 range; the number of injured is around 250 and detainees some 2,000, far more than the official figure of 300. All these figures are hard to pin down because the violence has spread across Iran to places never before affected, such as Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz and Babol on the Caspian coast. Journalists are barred from covering the unrest. Wherever dissent has sprung up, crowds of anti-government protesters have seized control of the streets and made government forces pull back. The most important flashpoint outside Tehran is Isfahan in central Iran, because it is the birthplace of the late Grand Ayatollah Ali Montazeri, the dissidents' spiritual mentor. His death a week ago spurred the current wave of unrest and gave the protesters the first spiritual icon for their struggle. Armed with the Montazeri image, the dissidents are not afraid to turn aggressively on the Guards and militiamen or hoist slogans that are no longer confined to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "the Dictator" whom they accuse of stealing the presidential election but, for the first time, openly defy the supposedly infallible, unelected spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The revolutionary Islamic regime in Tehran thus faces its most dangerous threat, an opposition which can no longer be dismissed as foreign-inspired, but whose revolutionary Islamic Shiite credentials are impeccable and who claim greater legitimacy than the corruption-ridden, oppressive clique in office. The gunning down of the nephew of Mir Hussein Mousavi, seen as an assassination, further stoked the fury raging in the streets of Tehran. Yet Moussavi stood aside as the movement's senior cleric, Ayatollah Mehdi Karroubi, used the opportunity to further question the regime's religious legitimacy by asking: "What has happened to this religious system that it orders the killing of innocent people during the holy day of Ashura?" DEBKAfile's Iranian sources estimate that the outbreaks can no longer be designated "riots" but the precursor of a popular counter-revolution which will gain momentum as time goes by. It will be extremely bloody and may be protracted because the heads of the current regime will not give the opposition an easy ride to power or let go of their positions without a fight. Security forces were ordered to storm the offices of Moussavi and the reformist ex-president Mohammed Khatami and arrest seven of their aides. They also detained two prominent critics of the regime, according to the pro-opposition Rahesabz website: former prosecutor-general and leading dissident Ayatollah Mousavi Ardabili, former foreign minister Ebrahim Yazdi and Emadeddin Baghi, a human rights campaign and journalist. Revolutionary Iran's places of detention are notorious hellholes of torture and death which some detainees do not survive. As for the US and the Europeans, they are seeing proof of the fallaciousness of their policy to refrain from applying undue foreign pressure on Tehran for fear of rallying the Iranian people around the regime. In fact, the opposite is the case; turning the heat on the regime will encourage the Iranian masses to more assertively resist their government and shorten its life. Russia and China, though jealous of their ties with the current regime in Tehran, will not have missed the large cracks forming in its fabric and have to start taking the new situation into account.

WEEK OF DECEMBER 20 THROUGH DECEMBER 27

Christmas: The Gift of God Giving Himself to the World

Dec. 25….(FOJ) Luke 2:1-20 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

The angel appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem’s fields, because the Child who was born in the city would become the “Good Shepherd.” The “good shepherd” would lead his flock to the glory land, and even lay down his life for the lost sheep. Today, because of Christmas, the “good shepherd” has provided a lamb to lead us to his salvation, and eternal life.

Matthew 2:1-12 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Still today, it is a wise man or woman, who seeks the Lord, and finds him just as the magi of old did. The prophets had conveyed the news of the promise of a coming savior and Messiah, and the wise men, having studied the scriptures foreknew that the season of his arrival was at hand, and so followed his star. Are you anticipating the signs of his imminent return today?

There'll be Nowhere to Hide From The New World Government

Dec. 22….(Telegraph) There is scope for debate, and innumerable newspaper quizzes, about who was the most influential public figure of the year, or which the most significant event. But there can be little doubt which word won the prize for most important adjective. 2009 was the year in which "global" swept the rest of the political lexicon into obscurity. There were "global crises" and "global challenges", the only possible resolution to which lay in "global solutions" necessitating "global agreements". Gordon Brown actually suggested something called a "global alliance" in response to climate change. To the extent that the word had intelligible meaning, it also had political ramifications that were scarcely examined by those who bandied it about with such ponderous self-importance. The mere utterance of it was assumed to sweep away any consideration of what was once assumed to be the most basic principle of modern democracy: that elected national governments are responsible to their own people, that the right to govern derives from the consent of the electorate. The dangerous idea that the democratic accountability of national governments should simply be dispensed with in favor of "global agreements" reached after closed negotiations between world leaders never, so far as I recall, entered into the arena of public discussion. Except in the United States, where it became a very contentious talking point, the US still holding firmly to the 18th-century idea that power should lie with the will of the people. Nor was much consideration given to the logical conclusion of all this grandiose talk of global consensus as unquestionably desirable: if there was no popular choice about approving supranational "legally binding agreements", what would happen to dissenters who did not accept their premises (on climate change, for example) when there was no possibility of fleeing to another country in protest? Was this to be regarded as the emergence of world government? And would it have powers of policing and enforcement that would supersede the authority of elected national governments? In effect, this was the infamous "democratic deficit" of the European Union elevated on to a planetary scale. And if the EU model is anything to go by, then the agencies of global authority will involve vast tracts of power being handed to unelected officials. Forget the relatively petty irritations of Euro bureaucracy: welcome to the era of Earth-bureaucracy, when there will be literally nowhere to run. But, you may say, however dire the political consequences, surely there is something in this obsession with global dilemmas. Economics is now based on a world market, and if the planet really is facing some sort of man-made climate crisis, then that too is a problem that transcends national boundaries. Calling a problem "global" is meant to imply three different things: that it is the result of the actions of people in different countries; that those actions have impacted on the lives of everyone in the world; and that the remedy must involve pretty much identical responses or correctives to those actions. These are separate premises, any of which might be true without the rest of them necessarily being so. The banking crisis certainly had its roots in the international nature of finance, but the way it affected countries and peoples varied considerably according to the differences in their internal arrangements. Britain suffered particularly badly because of its addiction to public and private debt, whereas Australia escaped relatively unscathed. That a problem is international in its roots does not necessarily imply that the solution must involve the hammering out of a uniform global prescription: in fact, given the differences in effects and consequences for individual countries, the attempt to do such hammering might be a huge waste of time and resources that could be put to better use devising national remedies. France and Germany seem to have pulled themselves out of recession over the past year (and the US may be about to do so) while Britain has not. These variations owe almost nothing to the pompous, overblown attempts to find global solutions: they are largely to do with individual countries, under the pressure of democratic accountability, doing what they decide is best for their own people. This is not what Mr Brown calls "narrow self-interest", or "beggar my neighbor" ruthlessness. It is the proper business of elected national leaders to make judgments that are appropriate for the conditions of their own populations. It is also right that heads of nations refuse to sign up to "legally binding" global agreements which would disadvantage their own people. The resistance of the developing nations to a climate change pact that would deny them the kind of economic growth and mass prosperity to which advanced countries have become accustomed is not mindless selfishness: it is proper regard for the welfare of their own citizens. The word "global" has taken on sacred connotations. Any action taken in its name must be inherently virtuous, whereas the decisions of individual countries are necessarily "narrow" and self-serving. (Never mind that a "global agreement" will almost certainly be disproportionately influenced by the most powerful nations.) Nor is our era so utterly unlike previous ones, for all its technological sophistication. We have always needed multilateral agreements, whether about trade, organized crime, border controls, or mutual defense. If the impact of our behavior on humanity at large is much greater or more rapid than ever before then we shall have to find ways of dealing with that which do not involve sacrificing the most enlightened form of government ever devised. There is a whiff of totalitarianism about this new theology, in which the risks are described in such cosmic terms that everything else must give way. "Globalism" is another form of the internationalism that has been a core belief of the Left: a commitment to class rather than country seemed an admirable antidote to the "blood and soil" nationalism that gave rise to fascism. The nation-state has never quite recovered from the bad name it acquired in the last century as the progenitor of world war.

Uganda Pastors Warn Rick Warren About Biblical Compromise

Dec.22….(In The Days) “Your letter has caused great distress and the pastors are demanding that you issue a formal apology for insulting the people of Africa by your very inappropriate bully use of your church and purpose driven pulpits to coerce us into the ‘evil’ of Sodomy and Gaymorrah,” the pastors, which include Martin Ssempa, state in a letter emailed to Warren. They also note, “As you yourself have said, ‘the Bible says evil has to be opposed. Evil has to be stopped. The Bible does not say negotiate with evil. It says stop it. Stop evil’. Since homosexuality is evil, you cannot possibly be against a law that seeks to stop it unless you have misunderstood it.” Warren, who works with pastors in Uganda on the “Purpose Driven” campaign and P.E.A.C.E. Plan, had addressed Ugandan pastors in a video earlier this month. He condemned the criminalization of homosexuality, particularly the death penalty as proposed in Uganda’s proposed legislation, and called it unjust and un-Christian. The Purpose Driven pastor was among a number of US religious leaders who expressed opposition and concern over the bill. But Ugandan pastors state in their letter to Warren that the bill has been “greatly misrepresented by some homosexual activists causing hysteria.” They stress that the proposed death penalty applies only in special cases termed “aggravated homosexuality,” which include those convicted of unlawful homosexual rape of a child or handicapped invalid. “This is a conviction of pedophiles!” they exclaim, noting that the country has for 15 years had a death penalty in place for those who sexually abuse a girl under the age of 18 years. The proposed measure simply extends the protection to boys, they say. Attempting to clarify what they believe is misinformation regarding the Anti-Homosexuality bill, the pastors task force says the proposed requirement that people report offenses of homosexuality was included because of high levels of unreported heterosexual/homosexual rape and harassment especially in single-sex schools. School officials and some police officers “maintain a conspiracy of silence” and ignore the pleas of the children and victims who report such crimes, the task force points out. Many, including Warren, had criticized the bill for placing “everybody” at risk, including parents, teachers, landlords, doctors, media and religious leaders who provide counseling to someone struggling with their sexuality, work with those infected with HIV/AIDS, or do not report an offense within 24 hours of knowledge. Warren believes it would hurt the church ministry of caring for people with HIV/AIDS. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda and can be punished with life imprisonment. But the anti-homosexuality legislation was designed to “fill the gaps” in the provisions of existing laws and “strengthen the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family.” The pastors task force, which represents the National Fellowship of Born again Churches, Seventh Adventists Church, Orthodox Church in Uganda, Roman Catholic Church in Uganda, Islamic Office of Social Welfare in Uganda, and Born Again Faith Federation, argue that the Anti-Homosexuality bill was “necessitated” by the increasing incidents of homosexual abuse of children, the growing promotion of homosexuality in Uganda, and western societies “waking up too late” on realizing that homosexuality affects the entire society including what children are taught at school. “We note with sadness the increasing levels of accepting of the evil of homosexuality,” they state. “In these increasingly dark days, we encourage you not to give into the temptation to water down what the Bible says so as not to offend people.” More than 200 of Uganda’s religious leaders support strengthening the law against homosexuality.

Top US soldier: We Must be Ready for Force Option Against Iran

Dec. 22….(DEBKAfile Special Report) In the plainest authoritative US statement yet about military force against Iran, Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said: "My belief remains that political means are the best tools to attain regional security and that military force will have limited results. However, should the president call for military options, we must have them ready. He said this on Monday, Dec. 21in his annual assessment of the nation's risks and priorities for 2010. Tehran shows no signs of backing down in the standoff over what is widely believed to be its drive for a nuclear bomb, said the US armed forces chief. Adm. Mullen added: "Most critically Iran's internal unrest, unpredictable leadership and sponsorship of terrorism make it a regional and global concern, heightened by its determined pursuit of nuclear weapons. DEBKAfile's Washington sources note that this is the first time any high-ranking American has put the military option squarely on the table. He has done so at the very moment that President Barack Obama's first deadline for Iran to level on its nuclear operations is running out. Mullen said nothing about what kind of military force he wants at hand, but any attack would presumably be conducted by air. Sunday, Adm. Mullen said he was worried about Iran's intentions and said the clock is running on Obama's offer of engagement. Also Monday, the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies ran an assessment by the commentator Anthony H. Cordesman on America's options against Iran as "a nuclear weapons power." He wrote: Iran's steadily advancing capabilities for asymmetric (DEBKA: WMD including chemical and biological weapons) and proxy warfare still leave it vulnerable to US conventional forces and devastating precision attacks on its military and economic assets.

The Killing of Babies is at the Heart of Healthcare Mess

Dec. 22….(FOJ) As the government healthcare debate winds down and the political haggling and bribery deals conclude for more government control of our lives this week, it is apparent to me that America’s economic nightmare is closely tied into the insidious business of ensuring the continued holocaust against America’s unborn babies. Abortion is an issue that doesn't usually lead to common ground, since interested groups have radically opposed views. My spiritual instinct tells me that God is allowing our nation to make a choice relative to this “national sin” that will soon result in his judgment on our nation. That judgement will likely lead to a national economic disaster and the loss of our freedom. As politician after politician takes bribes and lobbies for backdoor kickbacks in helping the federal government force a pro-abortion bill healthcare system down the throats of its citizenry, it exposes the reality that we do not have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people anymore. It is ironic that as Christians pause to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at this particular time, our government (like Herod) is working undercover, plotting to slaughter more babies in the name of healthcare. No wonder the Latter Days is described as being a time where, “good is called evil, and evil is regarded as good.”

What to Expect From a Nuclear Iran

Dec. 21….(Former US Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen) With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement that his country intends to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities, it should now be patently clear that the effort to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons has failed. For Tehran, the negotiations have been nothing more than one long stall, a ruse to buy time, conduct more tests, and hasten the day Iran becomes a nuclear power. The mullahs, or the members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who may be in charge, intend to build the bomb. To date, no inducements from the West, no offers of integration into international community, economic assistance or the lifting of modest sanctions, have been able to deter them from their goal. This leaves the United States and its international partners with three options:

First, persuade Russia and China to join in the imposition of more extensive, targeted sanctions against key financial and energy-related industries. It may be fanciful to think that the Iranian people, however courageous, could bring down the current regime that sits atop a million-man army and a brutally repressive and theocratic IRGC. But if the sanctions are sharp and biting enough, the possibility exists that Iranian leaders could change their conduct and even consider replacing certain colleagues whose words and deeds have produced such dire economic consequences. Admittedly, such a change of heart would not come easily, but a more moderate group of leaders might seize the opportunity to become a valued member of the international community rather than its pariah.

Second, set back the Iranian nuclear effort by military means, either by giving Israel our blessing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities or by joining Israel in such an attack. A military operation would be extremely high risk, requiring an extraordinary amount of intelligence and operational precision to be successful. The probability that such action would produce a devastating backlash by many Muslims across the ideological spectrum is high, with potential untold consequences to the global economy. A military strike is a dangerous option, but may prove unavoidable if diplomacy and other efforts fail.

At this moment, we appear headed toward option three. So it is worth reflecting on what living with a nuclear Iran would mean for the United States, the Middle East and the world. A nuclear Iran would be emboldened in its efforts to destabilize the Middle East and export its revolutionary ideology. Armed with nuclear weapons, Iranian leaders would enjoy a sense of invincibility. This could lead to bolder interference in Iraq and Afghanistan, greater mischief in Lebanon and more aggressive support for Hamas and Hezbollah. Tehran also could incite Shia populations in the Gulf States, thus threatening the survival of moderate Arab governments. Iran's possession of a nuclear bomb would likely start a nuclear cascade across the Middle East, as nations threatened by Iran question US security guarantees and seek their own deterrent capability. Within a decade, we could see the number of nuclear states grow dramatically, as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and others seek nuclear weapons to protect against Iranian aggression. This would spell the end of nonproliferation. As more nations develop their own nuclear deterrent, our ability to control nuclear stockpiles and prevent the spread of nuclear materials to dangerous actors could collapse. A nuclear Iran would itself pose an unprecedented proliferation risk. Tehran already supplies dangerous weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas, and might share nuclear materials with radical extremists. The result would be a growing risk that nuclear or radiological weapons will get in the hands of terrorists, who would not hesitate to use them against the US, Israel and other allies. Some insist we could deter Iran much as we deterred the Soviet Union. This is far from clear. The leaders of the USSR dreamed of establishing a global communist empire, but they were also rational pragmatists whose first priority was survival in this world. The hard-line elements in Iran include religious fanatics who speak of ushering in the end of this world by hastening the arrival of the 12th Imam. While few Iranian officials are millenarian radicals, the existence of even one is too many. For such actors, the doctrine of "mutual assured destruction" might be taken as a promise, not a threat. We could wind up in a nuclear showdown with Iran, similar to the Cuban missile crisis, without the benign outcome. These scenarios may seem far-fetched to some, but the terrible lesson of Sept. 11 is that "the future is not what it used to be." Rather than yield to the notion that the nuclear ambitions of Iran's current regime are unchangeable, we should redouble our efforts to bring about a change of heart in the regime through sanctions if possible; by other means if necessary.

WEEK OF DECEMBER 13 THROUGH DECEMBER 19

Jewish Activists Planning Temple Mount Ascent

Dec. 17….(JPOST) A group of activists dedicated to bringing Jews to the Temple Mount told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that they were hoping to see hundreds of participants take part in a planned "mass pilgrimage" to the site scheduled for Thursday morning in honor of Hannuka, which celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple after it was recovered from Hellenist Greeks more than 2,000 years ago. The pilgrimage, which will include guided tours of the area throughout the morning, will also be a litmus test for the shaky calm that has prevailed in Jerusalem's Old City since October, when rumors of a "Jewish takeover" of the mount sparked fierce clashes between Arab rioters and security forces in and around the sensitive holy site and in various neighborhoods of east Jerusalem. The rumors were fueled in part by calls at the time, from a number of Knesset members and prominent national-religious rabbis, that Jews ascend to the Temple Mount with increased vigor. Those calls were portrayed, in turn, by Palestinian clerics as nefarious plans to invade the site or build a synagogue there. The mount, which was the location of both the First and Second Jewish Temples from 960BC until 70AD, is also home to the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa Mosque, which is considered the third-holiest shrine in Islam.

'Obama' Think-Tank: Israel Should Cede Jerusalem Sovereignty

Dec. 17….(IsraelNN.com) A think tank which is arguably the most influential in Washington is proposing an “interim” neutral administration to govern Jerusalem instead of Israel. The Center for American Progress (CAP), headquartered just three blocks from the White House in Washington, is regarded as one of the most influential think tanks in the city, if not the most influential. “CAP has been an incubator for liberal thought and helped build the Democratic party platform that triumphed in the 2008 campaign,” according to a Bloomberg.com report, which noted that some of the group's recommendations were adopted by Obama while he was still president-elect. Four weeks ago, CAP held a panel discussion based on the premise that the Old City of Jerusalem is the main impediment in finding a solution to the Israel-Arab problem in the Holy Land. Michael Bell, a former Canadian Ambassador to Jordan, Egypt and Israel, presented a plan entitled the Jerusalem Old City Initiative. The plan does not call for the internationalization of Jerusalem, but is not far off from that. It recommends that both Israel and a future state of Palestine appoint a “third-party administrator” that would run and police the city. Bell explained that the plan calls for an administration or regime that would govern the Old City of Jerusalem for an interim period, without either Israel or the PA giving up their demands for sovereignty: “Frankly, I don’t think there’s going to be any agreement on sovereignty. I think that the two sides need not cede their demands for sovereignty; these claims can remain exactly as they are today. The sides would simply agree to delay the implementation or assertion of these claims until after an agreement is reached. Until then, a special administration would be set up, with the two sides agreeing to set this up, at least on an interim basis. And what this would do, would be to ensure dignity, human rights and equity for all living in the Old City, all visitors, and all pilgrims.”

The CAP report states, “The Temple Mount’s Western Wall is the most sacred place of Jewish worship, and the al-Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount), where Muslims believe that Mohammad ascended into the heavens, is the third holiest site in Islam.” However, law professor Marshall Breger, co-author of “Jerusalem's Holy Places and the Peace Process” and consultant to the Jerusalem Old City Initiative, who spoke at the panel about the competing religious claims, said more than once that it was the Temple Mount itself, and not the Western Wall outside it, that is the holiest place in Jerusalem. The Obama think tank says that with Jerusalem being so important to all, it requires a global administrator.

FOJ Note: The CAP report is a scenario that would fit perfectly into end-time events in Bible Prophecy, and could forge the diplomatic stage the Antichrist

Iran’s Nuclear Agenda is Exposed

Dec. 15….(In The Days) Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb. The notes, from Iran’s most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb that triggers an explosion. Foreign intelligence agencies date them to early 2007, four years after Iran was thought to have suspended its weapons program. An Asian intelligence source last week confirmed to The Times that his country also believed that weapons work was being carried out as recently as 2007, specifically, work on a neutron initiator. The technical document describes the use of a neutron source, uranium deuteride, which independent experts confirm has no possible civilian or military use other than in a nuclear weapon. Uranium deuteride is the material used in Pakistan’s bomb, from where Iran obtained its blueprint. “Although Iran might claim that this work is for civil purposes, there is no civil application,” said David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, which has analyzed hundreds of pages of documents related to the Iranian program. “This is a very strong indicator of weapons work.” The documents have been seen by intelligence agencies from several Western countries, including Britain. A senior source at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that they had been passed to the UN’s nuclear watchdog. A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said yesterday: “We do not comment on intelligence, but our concerns about Iran’s nuclear program are clear. Obviously this document, if authentic, raises serious questions about Iran’s intentions.” Responding to The Times’ findings, an Israeli government spokesperson said: “Israel is increasingly concerned about the state of the Iranian nuclear program and the real intentions that may lie behind it.” he revelation coincides with growing international concern about Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran insists that it wants to build a civilian nuclear industry to generate power, but critics suspect that the regime is intent on diverting the technology to build an atomic bomb. n September, Iran was forced to admit that it was constructing a secret uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom. President Ahmadinejad then claimed that he wanted to build ten such sites. Over the weekend Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said that Iran needed up to 15 nuclear power plants to meet its energy needs, despite the country’s huge oil and gas reserves. Publication of the nuclear documents will increase pressure for tougher UN sanctions against Iran, which are due to be discussed this week. But the latest leaks in a long series of allegations against Iran will also be seized on by hawks in Israel and the US, who support a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities before the country can build its first warhead.

Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said: “The most shattering conclusion is that, if this was an effort that began in 2007, it could be a casus belli. If Iran is working on weapons, it means there is no diplomatic solution.” The Times had the documents, which were originally written in Farsi, translated into English and had the translation separately verified by two Farsi speakers. While much of the language is technical, it is clear that the Iranians are intent on concealing their nuclear military work behind legitimate civilian research. The fallout could be explosive, especially in Washington, where it is likely to invite questions about President Obama’s groundbreaking outreach to Iran. The papers provide the first evidence which suggests that Iran has pursued weapons studies after 2003 and may actively be doing so today, if the four-year plan continued as envisaged. A 2007 US National Intelligence Estimate concluded that weapons work was suspended in 2003 and officials said with “moderate confidence” that it had not resumed by mid-2007. Britain, Germany and France, however, believe that weapons work had already resumed by then. Western intelligence sources say that by 2003 Iran had already assembled the technical know-how it needed to build a bomb, but had yet to complete the necessary testing to be sure such a device would work. Iran also lacked sufficient fissile material to fuel a bomb and still does, although it is technically capable of producing weapons-grade uranium should its leaders take the political decision to do so. The documents detail a plan for tests to determine whether the device works, without detonating an explosion leaving traces of uranium detectable by the outside world. If such traces were found, they would be taken as irreversible evidence of Iran’s intention to become a nuclear-armed power. Experts say that, if the 2007 date is correct, the documents are the strongest indicator yet of a continuing nuclear weapons program in Iran. Iran has long denied a military dimension to its nuclear program, claiming its nuclear activities are solely focused on the production of energy for civilian use. Mr Fitzpatrick said: “Is this the smoking gun? That’s the question people should be asking. It looks like the smoking gun. This is smoking uranium.”

Dec. 14….(Israel Today) In a lengthy declaration labeled as a message of "faith, hope and love," dozens of Arab Christian leaders from various churches represented in the region denounced Israel as the main obstacle to peace and rejected the validity of the biblical link between the Jews and the land. Published on Friday by regional leaders of the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Baptists churches, the document, titled "A Moment of Truth," lamented that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process had reached an impasse, and that there was now little hope of reversing "Palestinian suffering." "We as a group of Christian Palestinians, after prayer, reflection and an exchange of opinion, cry out from within the suffering in our country, under the Israeli occupation, with a cry of hope in the absence of all hope, a cry full of prayer and faith in a God ever vigilant, in God's divine providence for all the inhabitants of this land," read the statement. "Today we have reached a dead end in the tragedy of the Palestinian people." Israel is solely blamed for the situation. In a section titled "The reality on the ground," the Palestinian Christian leaders listed the reasons peace had not been reached, including Israel's security wall, the presence of Jews in Judea and Samaria, Israeli checkpoints, the jailing of Palestinian terrorists, and Israel's control of a unified Jerusalem. Like their Muslim counterparts, the Christian leaders insisted that the suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis that necessitate many of the above measures are not terrorism, but rather legitimate resistance: "Israel justifies its actions as self-defense. In our opinion, this vision is a reversal of reality. Yes, there is Palestinian resistance to the occupation. However, if there were no occupation, there would be no resistance, no fear and no insecurity." That position, of course, ignores the fact that Arab terrorism against Israel began long before 1967, when Israel liberated the so-called "Palestinian territories" from Jordanian occupation and took possession of them in line with the original UN mandate for the region. The liberal Palestinian Christian leaders then took aim at Evangelical Christians around the world that support Israel based on biblical precepts. "Jesus came with 'a new teaching' casting a new light on the Old Testament, on the themes that relate to our Christian faith and our daily lives, themes such as the promises, the election, the people of God and the land," read the statement. "For this reason, it is unacceptable to transform the Word of God into letters of stone. This is precisely the error in fundamentalist Biblical interpretation that brings us death and destruction when the word of God is petrified and transmitted from generation to generation as a dead letter. This dead letter is used as a weapon in our present history in order to deprive us of our rights in our own land," it continued. The Christian leaders insisted that the biblical mission of universal salvation had everything to do with the land itself and the body of believers in it, and not with the Nation of Israel, as defined in scripture. They were adamant that the Bible offers no spiritual or divine mandate for the Jews to have sovereignty over the land today: "We know that certain theologians in the West try to attach a biblical and theological legitimacy to the infringement of our rights. Thus, the promises, according to their interpretation, have become a menace to our very existence. "We declare that any use of the Bible to legitimize or support political options and positions that are based upon injustice, imposed by one person on another, or by one people on another, transform religion into human ideology and strip the Word of God of its holiness, its universality and truth. "We also declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights, bestowed by God."

Many will recognize these positions as thinly-disguised Replacement Theology. While the church leaders are not calling for Jews to be expelled from the land, they are disputing the Jews' right to lay claim to biblical promises, since in the Christians' view, those promises are either no longer valid, or have been transferred to "the Church." Ironically, while the bulk of the statement rejected the politicization of spiritual matters when they were used to justify Israel's right to the land, the Christian leaders demanded political "justice" and the fulfillment of their political aims in the name of "Christian love." Israel is home to many Arab Christian-run ministries that advocate peace and reconciliation, both good and biblical goals. However, with very few exceptions, their idea of reconciliation is nothing short of Jews getting on their knees and begging for forgiveness for "stealing" Arab lands, and offering to unconditionally return that land.

FOJ Note: These misguided Palestinian Christians simply either choose to ignore God’s promises regarding the “promised land,” or else they are simply ignorant about God’s plans for this world. The following scripture is a direct quote from the Lord himself concerning his plans for the land, and his people, in the latter days, as the Church Age draws to its climax. (Amos 9:14-15 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.)

WEEK OF DECEMBER 6 THROUGH DECEMBER 12

If Attacked, Iran Wants Syria to Hit Back at Israel. Damascus Hedges

Dec. 11….(DEBKAfile) DEBKAfile's military sources report that this message Iran's defense minister Ahmad Vahidi brought to Damascus where he is attending a session of the high Iranian-Syrian defense committee which went into its second day Thursday, Dec. 10. Syrian defense minister Ali Habib is in the chair. The Iranian visitor indicated that Tehran expects an Israeli attack within a month. According to Iranian intelligence, Jerusalem will take its green light from President Barack Obama's forced admission after Christmas that his policy of dialogue and stiffer sanctions have failed in the face of Tehran's rejection of the international proposal to send its enriched uranium for overseas processing. "The countdown for war is coming close to its end," said Vahidi to the joint defense committee. "And we must get our strategic partnership in shape ahead of time." The leitmotif of the Iranian defense secretary's talks in Damascus was the fate Iran and Syria share and their strategic partnership as the only safeguards against what he called "'American-backed Zionist aggression." Syria must commit itself to joint military action against Israel, because “stronger defense ties between Iran and Syria are elements of deterrence in confronting the Zionist regime's threats to the countries of the region.” For the first, time, Gen. Vahidi openly threatened to respond to a possible Israel attack on Iran's nuclear facilities by striking Israel's "chemical, microbiological and banned nuclear weapons" production sites. His message brought forth a tepid Syrian response: The Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Syrian Secretary of Defense Ali Habib as commenting on December 10, that an attack on Iran by any party would be deemed an attack on Syria and draw commensurate retaliation. But DEBKAfile's military sources point out that comment did not satisfy Tehran because it is short of clear language pledging specific military action. Iranian officials mean to stay in Damascus and keep up the pressure until they elicit a firm, binding Syrian commitment to strike Israel on its ally's behalf if Iran comes under attack. Gen. Vahidi arrived in Damascus Tuesday aboard a special Iranian military aircraft. It carried the largest Iranian military delegation ever seen in the Syrian capital, representing every branch of Iran's armed forces, Revolutionary Guards Corps and intelligence. Preparations for coordinated retaliation for a potential Israeli attack also brought a top Hizballah delegation incoming from Lebanon to Damascus headed by its secretary general Hassan Nasrallah. When they met, Syrian and Iranian military officials proposed that Hizballah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations start heating up Israel's borders in the coming days to draw the attention from the world's focus on the Iranian and Syrian nuclear programs. Washington sources reported that the Obama administration was about to launch a campaign against Syria's covert military nuclear program based on the "smoking gun" of traces of highly processed plutonium found by UN inspectors at the bombed Syrian-North Korean facility at Dir a-Zur. The campaign will focus on this finding as evidence of Iran's covert nuclear activities and proliferation activities.

Obama Administration 'Assures Jewish Evacuation'

(PA official says US won't counter proposal giving Temple Mount to Palestinians)

Dec. 11….(WND) Members of the Obama administration recently assured the Palestinian Authority that most Jewish communities in the strategic West Bank will be evacuated, a top PA official told WND yesterday. The official also said Obama will soon offer the Palestinians a public pledge that a Palestinian state will encompass most of the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem with the exception of what is known as the three main settlement blocs, Ariel, Gush Etzion and Maale Adumim. The pledge will likely be oral and not in the form of a letter, said the PA official. Further, both the PA official and a source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office told WND the Obama administration refused to counter a European Union draft document that supports the division of Jerusalem, with the Temple Mount going to the Palestinians. The White House yesterday issued a statement that the status of Jerusalem should be determined by Israel and the Palestinians, but the statement stopped short of countering the EU proposal. Sweden, which currently holds the EU presidency, last week presented to Israel and the PA the draft document, which recognizes all of eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, as the capital of a future Palestinian state. "The EU will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem," said the EU ministerial draft, referring to all of eastern Jerusalem. "If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," EU foreign ministers agreed in a statement released last Tuesday. Israel's Foreign Ministry, for its part, warned the proposal would damage the EU's ability to be a Mideast mediator.

Famous Weather Scientist: Climategate 'Tip of Iceberg'

Dec. 10….(WND) The Colorado scientist described by the Washington Post as "the World's Most Famous Hurricane Expert" says the "Climategate" e-mails from the United Kingdom that revealed possible data manipulation are evidence of a conspiracy among "warmists," those who believe man's actions are triggering possibly catastrophic climate change. "The recent 'ClimateGate' revelations coming out of the UK University of East Anglia are but the tip of a giant iceberg of a well organized international climate warming conspiracy that has been gathering momentum for the last 25 years," said William Gray of CSU. His annual hurricane forecasts are the standard for weather prognostications. His work pioneered the science of forecasting hurricanes, and he has served as weather forecaster for the US Air Force. He is emeritus professor of atmospheric science at CSU and heads the school's Department of Atmospheric Sciences Tropical Meteorology Project. Gray was referring to e-mails and other information obtained by a hacker and posted on a Russian web server that included interactions among the world's most influential climate-change scientists. One e-mail said: "I've just completed Mike's Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd (sic) from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline." Another expressed internal doubts: "The fact is that we can't account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can't. The CERES data published in the August (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society) 09 supplement on 2008 shows there should be even more warming: but the data are surely wrong. Our observing system is inadequate." Further, an e-mail exchange suggested the suppression of information: "Can you delete any e-mails you may have had with Keith re (Assessment Report 4)? Keith will do likewise. He's not in at the moment, minor family crisis." Gray said, "This conspiracy would become much more manifest if all the e-mails of the publically funded climate research groups of the US and of foreign governments were ever made public." Gray warns that the likely agreements coming out of Copenhagen, the cap-and-trade bill before Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency's decision announced this week to treat carbon dioxide as a pollutant "represents a grave threat to the industrial world's continued economic development." "We should not allow these proposals to restrict our economic growth," Gray said. "Any United Nations climate bill our country might sign would act as an infringement on our country's sovereignty." He said he probably would have been concerned about the possibility people are causing serious global climate degradation "had I not devoted my entire career of over half-a-century to the study and forecasting of meteorological and climate events." "There has been an unrelenting quarter century of one-sided indoctrination of the Western world by the media and by various scientists and governments concerning a coming carbon dioxide, induced global warming disaster," he said. "These warming scenarios have been orchestrated by a combination of environmentalists, vested interest scientists wanting larger federal grants and publicity, the media which profits from doomsday scenario reporting, governmental bureaucrats who want more power over our lives, and socialists who want to level-out global living standards. "These many alarmist groups appear to have little concern over whether their global warming prognostications are accurate, however. And they most certainly are not. The alarmists believe they will be able to scare enough of our citizens into believing their propaganda that the public will be willing to follow their advice on future energy usage and agree to a lowering of their standard of living in the name of climate salvation." Gray said there still hasn't been an "honest and broad" scientific debate on the influence of CO2 on global temperature, contending the present models presented by scientists are flawed. He cited a global warming of about 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last century, and that's "not a consequence of human activities." "The disastrous economic consequences of restricting CO2 emissions from the present by as much as 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050 (as being proposed in Copenhagen) have yet to be digested by the general public. Such CO2 output decreases would cause very large increases in our energy costs, a lowering of our standard of living, and do nothing of significance to improve our climate," he said. Gray launched the practice of seasonal hurricane forecasts. After the 2005 Atlantic season, he said he was stepping down from the primary authorship of the CSU report, turning over those duties to Philip J. Klotzbach. He's long described global warming as a hoax, telling the Post three years ago, "I am of the opinion that this is one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the American people." Myron Ebell said the e-mails obtained from the University of East Anglia were "shocking." "It's kind of interesting to learn that petty politics seems to be more prevalent in the scientific community than in the political community," he said. The documents, he said, "raise a huge number of questions about the integrity of a lot of people in the alarmist community." "What I've seen there is a very strong effort to manage the issue by scientists and not as a scientific issue. It's very improper," he said. "One of the criticisms is that we need scientists to be scientists, and policy can be handled in public debate." Phil Jones, head of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, confirmed the documents appeared authentic. He has temporarily stepped down while an investigation is taking place. Despite the advocacy of a financially vested former vice president, Al Gore, and others, public opinion about whether mankind is causing an ultimately catastrophic rise in global temperatures is shifting. US Rep. Ron Paul has urged members of Congress to consider the joint opinion of nearly 32,000 scientists, including more than 9,000 Ph.D.s, who believe humans likely have little or nothing to do with any "global warming." The petition project launched some 10 years ago when the first few thousand signatures were gathered, has steadily grown without any special effort or campaign. But in the last few years, and especially because of the release of Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth," the campaign has been reinvigorated. "Mr. Gore's movie, asserting a 'consensus' and 'settled science' in agreement about human-caused global warming, conveyed the claims about human-caused global warming to ordinary moviegoers and to public-school children, to whom the film was widely distributed. Unfortunately, Mr. Gore's movie contains many very serious incorrect claims which no informed, honest scientist could endorse," project spokesman and founder Art Robinson has told WND. Robinson, a research professor of chemistry, cofounded the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine with Linus Pauling in 1973, and later cofounded the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine Paul later cited the petition results in statement to Congress. "Our energy policies must be based upon scientific truth, not fictional movies or self-interested international agendas," Paul said. "They should be based upon the accomplishments of technological free enterprise that have provided our modern civilization, including our energy industries. That free enterprise must not be hindered by bogus claims about imaginary disasters." The petition states: "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth." Robinson has warned of serious political and economic consequences of assuming "global warming" results from mankind's actions. "The campaign to severely ration hydrocarbon energy technology has now been markedly expanded," he said. "In the course of this campaign, many scientifically invalid claims about impending climate emergencies are being made. Simultaneously, proposed political actions to severely reduce hydrocarbon use now threaten the prosperity of Americans and the very existence of hundreds of millions of people in poorer countries," he told WND.

EU: Jerusalem Must be Joint Capital of Israel, Palestinian State

Dec. 9….(Ha Aretz) European Foreign Ministers on Tuesday declared their support for the division of Jerusalem, saying that a way should be found to make Jerusalem the shared capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state. Sweden, which currently holds the EU presidency, presented a draft document last week supporting the division of Jerusalem and the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. "If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," EU foreign ministers agreed in a statement released on Tuesday, diplomats said. The status of Jerusalem, a city holy to three religions, is a sensitive issue for Israel, which considers the city to be its indivisible capital. Palestinians want the eastern part of Jerusalem to serve as the capital of a Palestinian state. Israel has strongly objected to the Swedish draft resolution that does not recognize Israel's claims to the eastern part of the city. Israel's Foreign Ministry warned the move would damage the EU's ability to be a Mideast mediator. "The EU will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem," said the EU ministerial draft. It referred to the Six-Day War in which Israel captured east Jerusalem from the Jordanian army. The document also called for the establishment of a Palestinian state comprising the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. "If there is to be peace a way has to be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two states," it said. The competing claims to East Jerusalem remain the most intractable issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last week, Israel sternly warned the EU against adopting new language that endorses East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. The draft released Tuesday said the ministers are "deeply concerned about the situation in East Jerusalem" and urged both sides to avoid what it called "provocative actions." Most EU ministers appeared supportive of the latest draft, although some said the declaration should not antagonize either party in the dispute at the risk of undermining efforts to restart peace talks. "I don't really understand why Israel does not accept that Palestine consists of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem," Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told journalists. "The Israelis have a right to live in Israel, the Palestinians have a right to live in Palestine." Finish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said the EU must affirm its stand on the status of Jerusalem and insist that Israel must not resume settlement building.

US vs. EU: Jerusalem Should be Negotiated in Final-Status Agreement

Dec. 9….(Arutz) Assistant Secretary of State PJ Crowley responded to the EU statement on Jerusalem is clear, saying, “ We believe that is a final-status issue”. This is best addressed inside a formal negotiation among the parties directly." The United States, the EU, and others certainly recognize the importance of getting back to negotiation. And we all have our differing views on the emotional and complex issues that are at the heart of this challenge," said Crowley, reiterating the Obama Administration's stance. Crowley noted that the US' current focus is "to see what we can do to try to encourage the parties, all of them, to move beyond kind of the cul-de-sac that we find ourselves in and to continue to refocus on the future and see what we can do to get the process moving forward again." The EU minister's resolution, which was significantly softened from the original Swedish proposal, said that Europe is concerned by the situation in east Jerusalem and called upon all sides to avoid provocations in light of recent developments. The document also noted that the European Commission never recognized Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem.

Ahmadinejad Reportedly Claims US is Blocking Return of Mahdi

Dec. 8….(Fox News) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the United States is attempting to thwart the return of mankind's savior, according to reports from Al Arabiya, a television news station based in Dubai. Ahmadinejad reportedly claims he has documented evidence that the US is blocking the return of Mahdi, the Imam believed by Muslims to be the savior. We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world,” Ahmadinejad said during a speech on Monday, according to Al Arabiya. "They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. Ahmadinejad continued the rant by claiming there have been plots by both the West as well as countries in the East to wipe out his country, according to Iranian news Web site Tabak. "They have planned to annihilate Iran. This is why all policymakers and analysts believe Iran is the true winner in the Middle East," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the site. He also alleged that foreign nations seek to control Iran's oil and natural resources. "In Afghanistan, they are caught like an animal in a quagmire. But instead of pulling their troops out to save themselves, they are deploying more soldiers. Even if they stay in Afghanistan for another 50 years they will be forced to leave with disgrace, because this is a historical experience," Ahmadinejad reportedly said. "They know themselves that they need Iran in the Middle East, but because of their arrogance they do not want to accept this reality. They are nothing without the Iranian nation and all their rhetoric is because they don't want to appear weak."

Netanyahu: Syria Relinquished Preconditions for Talks

(Prime Minister tells Knesset committee heard from French president Damascus no longer demanding withdrawal from Golan Heights as prerequisite for negotiations, but still insisting on Turkish mediation)

Dec. 8….(YNET) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told the members of Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel is interested in direct talks with Syria, but in a situation in which a mediator is required, would rather Paris over Ankara. "I spoke with Sarkozy, who told me that the Syrian stance is a retreat to the 1967 lines," Netanyahu said, "Sarkozy also mentioned the Turkish mediation that the Syrians propose, I responded to him saying we are interested in direct negotiations, and if we are talking about a mediator, I prefer you." Netanyahu also addressed the tense times in Israel-Turkey relations, and mentioned Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer's recent visit to Ankara. "His visit led to moderation and closer ties with them." Ben-Eliezer last weekend expressed hopes of an upcoming meeting between the Turkish prime minister and his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu. During the committee meeting, Netanyahu also addressed the threat posed on Israel from the northern border. "If in the past we considered Hezbollah as a sideline militia, today Hezbollah is the real Lebanese army," he charged. "It has replaced the Lebanese army as a significant force; it is arming and organizing as a real army. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah are becoming interwoven in each other, and they will suffer the consequences of any violation against Israel," he added.

Dec. 8….(Rebecca Hagelin) As the Christmas season gets into full swing, the odd reality is that in many institutions, homes and hearts, Christ will be absent from his own birthday party. Jesus is a gentleman, and he will not intrude as an uninvited guest. He is patiently waiting for the call, always watching and listening for earnest voices, or even the seeking and uncertain ones, to whisper his name. And he will always enthusiastically accept the invitation, bringing with him the gift of unconditional and lasting love. It's the greatest news the world has ever known, that God came to Earth in the form of a little baby and grew and faced the same human challenges as do we. I find it unfathomable that he loves me so much that he bore the suffering of the guilt of my sin. He did that for you too, and everyone you know. Yet, our "celebration" of his love has been reduced to focusing on the glitz and merriment of the "holiday," with scarcely a mention of who it is we are celebrating. When we as a nation collectively reject the deep spiritual offering that Christ makes and at the same time seize the chance to party, open gifts and take time off from work, a national and personal emptiness results. Yes, there is beauty and joy in celebrating our love for family and friends, but human love can only go so far. It is imperfect and fleeting, and even when it seems as close to pure as possible, it still cannot fill that hole in our souls that is meant for God. Because we have successfully removed Christ from the Christmas season, many who might otherwise come to know him through the attention he should be getting will pass through just another holiday season as the proud owners of a few trinkets that will eventually tarnish, wear out and break. They will also enter the new year the same as they left the old one - searching, hoping, longing for something more. Will it be that way in your own home?

Don't allow your attention to focus on something as meaningless as just another "holiday" party. As our culture shuts out Christ for the sake of political correctness, don't shut him out of your home. In Romans 1:16, Paul writes: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation for every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." In other words, we should boldly proclaim the good news of Christ because he provides salvation for every one who believes. Imagine that - salvation awaits anyone who believes in Jesus, no matter our faults or failures or financial or family situation. We don't have to "clean up our act" first, we only have to believe in him - to invite him to our life's party. Perhaps celebrating Christ is a new concept for you, and you have no idea where or how to start. The greatest story ever told can be found throughout the Bible, it is the story of Christ. Invite Christ into your home and heart for his birthday. When you do, he will joyfully accept, and Christmas will never be the same.

Olmert: Abbas Doesn't Desire PAace any More Than Arafat Did

Dec. 8….(Israel Today) Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week said that though he pushed hard for Israel to make painful concessions in return for peace with the Arabs, in hindsight he now realizes that Palestinian leaders have no interest in ending the conflict. In an interview with The Australian, Olmert revealed that during the last months of his premiership in late 2008 he made a comprehensive peace proposal to the Palestinians that included dividing Jerusalem. According to the proposal, Israel would pull out of nearly all Judea and Samaria, and compensate the Palestinians with land inside sovereign Israel for the large settlement blocs that would remain intact. Furthermore, the Palestinian Authority would be given full sovereignty over the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, while the Old City area of the city would be administered jointly by Israel, the Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United States. Olmert said he presented this proposal, together with a detailed map, to Abbas in late-2008. The Palestinians promised to respond the next day, but then said they forgot about a scheduled trip to neighboring Jordan and would have to get back to Olmert later. He never heard from them again. "We should ask Abbas to respond to this plan. If they say no, there's no point negotiating," said Olmert. Olmert's newfound skepticism regarding the intentions of his Palestinian "peace partners" mirrors the lesson current Defense Minister Ehud Barak learned when as prime minister in 2000 he offered Yasser Arafat nearly all the land he demanded, only to have the former Palestinian leader reject the offer and launch the "second intifada."

'Iran Can Already Produce Nuclear Bomb

Dec. 8….(JPOST) Iran now has the technical capability to build a nuclear bomb and the only thing separating it from the bomb is the decision to go ahead and build one, said Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of Military Intelligence's research division, on Monday in Bushehr, southwest of Teheran. Speaking at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Baidatz said Iran had successfully enriched 1,800 kilograms of uranium, enough to build over one bomb. Baidatz also said that Iran had been upgrading its missile arsenal, and that it had developed missiles with the capability of carrying nuclear weapons that could reach Israel. Prime Minister Binaymin Netanyahu also addressed the Iranian nuclear threat at the committee meeting. The prime minister said that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities was Israel's "central problem."

US: Uranium Findings in Syria - Evidence of Iranian Proliferation

Dec. 7….(DEBKAfile Exclusive Report) A senior official in the Obama administration described the UN nuclear watchdog inspectors' discovery of traces of highly processed plutonium at the bombed Syrian-North Korean facility at Dir a-Zur as a "smoking gun, evidence of Iran's covert nuclear activities and proliferation, DEBKAfile's Washington sources report. It was confirmed by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in their Nov. 30 visit to the site which was demolished by Israel in September 2007. Obama administration sources are confident that with this information of Iranian violations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, even Russia and China will have to endorse stiff new sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The soil samples the inspectors collected at their last visit to Dir a-Zur confirmed an earlier discovery of uranium used in separating out bomb-grade plutonium from spent nuclear fuel which the US believes was supplied by Iran. Those experiments were clearly further along that previously assessed. The same traces were found at the Syrian nuclear research reactor near Damascus. Washington intends to present these findings as solid evidence of the tie-in between the Syrian and Iranian military nuclear programs, together with proofs of Tehran's direct involvement in the planning and construction of the demolished Syria reactor. Iran will also be shown to have supplied Syria with the nuclear materials and technology for its operation as part of its own program to attain a nuclear weapons capability. The US will use this body of evidence to demonstrate Iran has been in grave breach of its NPT obligations since 2007. This week, officials in Tehran said their government has no plans to abdicate from the treaty. According to DEBKAfile's Washington sources, the Obama administration may decide to plant the information in the US and world media before making a formal presentation. Last Thursday, Dec. 3, Iran's national security council director Saeed Jalili visited Damascus for urgent consultations with Syrian leaders on fending off the coming American assault on its nuclear program based on the evidence of Syria covert nuclear activities. His party included members of Iran's nuclear energy commission who helped build the Syria's North Korean reactor. Jalili and Syrian president Bashar Assad spent several hours discussing how to respond to the forthcoming American revelations. Their talks were violently interrupted by the bomb blast on an Iranian pilgrim bus in central Damascus. Official figures have not been released but the number of dead is believed to be fifteen Iranians with many more injured. Assad ordered Syrian officials on the spot to claim the blast was an accident and not an act of terror. Both sides assumed that the hand behind the attack had advance knowledge of the Iranian-Syrian conference and was bent on sabotaging it

Temple Institute Preparing For Rebuilding of Jewish Temple

Dec. 7….(Last Days) We live at a time when the signs of the last days are literally being fulfilled right in front of our eyes. One of the most exciting signs that Bible prophecy students love to keep an eye on are preparations for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. In a previous article, we discussed how the Temple Institute in Jerusalem took a giant step towards the rebuilding of the Temple by beginning to rebuild the sacrificial altar. Now it has been revealed that the Temple Institute has already spent approximately 27 million dollars on preparations for the rebuilding of the Temple, and that the Temple Institute intends for this future Temple to be a house of prayer for all "monotheistic religions". The executive director of the Temple Institute, Yehuda Glick, says that a large portion of the financial support for the Temple Institute actually comes from evangelical Christians. ''There are 70 million evangelical Christians around the world, and most of them have become Israel's strongest supporters.'' So what have all these funds gone towards so far? Well, the truth is that the Temple Instituted has been extremely busy. The Temple Institute Museum in Jerusalem's Old City contains solid gold service vessels, trumpets made of silver, garments to be worn by future priests made from golden thread, copper urns and many, many other items that have been painstakingly designed to Biblical specifications for use in the future Temple. So when will this Temple be built? According to Glick, it will depend on when the Messiah shows up. 'It could well be tomorrow, but it might be another 100 years, or even 400 years.'' Most Christians understand that Judaism believes that the third temple will be built upon the arrival of the Messiah, but what most Christians do not realize is that the Temple Institute envisions a future Temple that will be “a house of prayer for all believers of the 3 monotheistic faiths,” Christians, Muslims or Jews. In fact, Glick says that the Al-Aqsa mosque does not need to be removed for the new Temple to be built. We intend to just build over the Dome of the Rock. We might be able to find a way to include it in the third temple.'' As surprising as this may be to many evangelical Christians, the truth is that Glick is far from alone in this belief. For example, A stunning article that was published in the leading journal of religious law in Israel envisioned a scenario under which a "holy revelation" is given to an "authentic prophet" who would authorize that the Temple be rebuilt in peaceful proximity to the Al-Aqsa mosque and nearby Christian shrines. This article echoed Glick's sentiments by discussing the potential for turning the Temple Mount into "God's Holy Mountain," a "house of prayer" for all people (Isaiah 56:7). In fact, there is even a Jewish website promoting a vision of "God's Holy Mountain" where all faiths would worship together: This website depicts a harmonious future for the Temple Mount where Muslims, Christians and Jews mingle and pray between the Dome of the Rock and a rebuilt Jewish Temple. This project is headed up by Jewish members of the Interfaith Encounter Association. This organization is actively encouraging all three religions to adopt a new theological outlook which would allow all three faiths to worship on the Temple mount. Of course those of us who study the Scriptures know what God would think about such plans. But could the Antichrist someday pose as the Jewish Messiah and use such expectations to promote the use of the rebuilt Temple for his one world religion? It is something to think about. In any event, preparations for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple are heating up as never before, and as students of the prophecies of the last days this is something that we need to continually keep an eye on.

FOJ Note: Christians must always remember that the rebuilt 3^rd temple will be in accordance with the plans of the Antichrist, as HE will utilize it for his own designs. (abomination of desolation)

WEEK OF DECEMBER 28 THROUGH JANUARY 2

Happy New Year From FOJ

Israel’s Rights to the “Disputed Territory”