Watchman of Zion

You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:

1) Listen to the audio

In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:

1) The current situation with the Israel / Palestinian peace process

In the last several months, Israel has made various announcements of their intent to build Jewish homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  Currently, around 200,000 Jews live alongside about 300,000 Arabs in East Jerusalem. Each time Israel announces plans to build more Jewish homes in the disputed territories, strong condemnation against it is voiced by the United States and the European Union.  The United States calls such decisions by Israel as being “counterproductive” to efforts to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. “We have long made clear our opposition to continued settlement activity,” said a US State Department official. “These announcements, like every other  settlement announcement Israel makes, planning step they approve and construction tenders they issue, is counterproductive to Israel’s stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians,” the official said. Furthermore, the US says that Israel building Jewish homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem would distance Israel from “even its closest allies.” US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the US is “deeply concerned” over Israel’s continued building of new Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. These decisions by Israel will only draw condemnation from the international community, distance Israel from even its closest allies, poison the atmosphere not only with the Palestinians but also with the very Arab governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to build relations,” she said, calling her own language “strong.”

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that US criticism of building Jewish homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem goes “against American values.” Netanyahu said he does not accept restrictions on where Jews could live, and said that Jerusalem’s Arabs and Jews should be able to buy homes wherever they want. He said he was “baffled” by the American condemnation. “It’s against the American values. And it doesn’t bode well for peace,” he said. “The idea that we’d have this ethnic purification as a condition for peace, I think it’s anti-peace.” The strong condemnation of US criticism against the building of Jewish homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem threatens to deepen a rift with the United Status over the issue.

In response to Netanyahu’s comments, US Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. “The fact is American policy has been clear and unchanged under several administrations, both Democrat and Republican. When it comes to American values, it’s American values that led to this country’s unwavering support of Israel. It’s American values that have led us to fund an Iron Dome system,” he added. “It’s clear how American values dictate or at least guide our thinking on support of Israel,” Earnest said. “We oppose any unilateral actions that attempt to prejudge final status issues including the status of Jerusalem. These can only be legitimately determined through direct negotiations through the parties that this president has worked hard to try to facilitate,” he concluded.

England calls Israel’s decisions to continue announcements of building Jewish homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal under international law and that such moves “present an obstacle to peace and take us further away from a two state solution.”

Palestinian chief negotiator in the peace process, Saeb Erekat said that “The international community should hold Israel accountable as soon as possible for the ongoing Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Israeli government is committing various crimes against the Palestinian people and their occupied land,” he said. PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that building Jewish homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem would cause the situation in the region to deteriorate further, and added that settlements in general are illegal.

The European Union condemned an Israeli plan to build 2,610 new Jewish homes inside the pre-1967 borders warning that the future of its relations with Israel depended on its commitment to peace.  “The EU deeply deplores and strongly opposes the recent expropriation of land near Bethlehem, recent announcements of plans for new settlement construction, in particular in Givat Hamatos, Ramat Shlomo, Har Homa and Ramot, as well as plans to displace Bedouins in the West. The council — which consists of the foreign ministers of the EU’s 28 member states — urged Israel to reverse these decisions, as they “run counter to international law and directly threaten the two-state solution. This represents a further highly detrimental step that undermines prospects for a two-state solution and calls into question Israel’s commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians,” the EU’s diplomatic service said. A solution to the Israeli / Palestinian conflict can only be found “if both parties refrain from unilateral actions that change the situation on the ground,” he stressed, noting that “the EU will not recognize any changes to borders pre-1967, including with regard to Jerusalem, unless both parties agree. We emphasize that the future of relations between the EU and Israel depend on the commitment of the latter for a lasting peace and a solution comprising two states,” he added.

The European Union is threatening to “take further action” to respond to Israeli moves deemed harmful to the two-state solution, but refrained from announcing concrete sanctions. At the same time, an internal EU document indicated preliminary sanctions the union is considering imposing on Israel, including recalling European ambassadors and cutting ties with Israeli leaders who publicly oppose the two-state solution. An internal EU document lists several steps the union considers taking to promote a two-state solution, trying to offer both carrots and sticks. But most suggestions appear to be punitive, such as reassessing the EU’s commitment not to participate in Israel-bashing sessions at the United Nations Human Rights Council, reassessing the distribution of funds or “actions vis-à-vis EU companies operating in the settlements.”

The EU could also take actions “reinforcing” the Palestinians’ unilateral statehood bid, according either by recognizing a Palestinian state or by supporting or not opposing the Palestinians’ efforts to join international organizations. However, it should be noted that the document is clearly labeled as a “non-paper,” which means it does not state official policy but is merely meant as a basis to start a discussion on what could possibly become policy at a later stage. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini denied that the internal EU document is about to become the union’s policy. “There is no such plan” she said, adding that it is more like a “hypothetical working paper” asked for by EU member states a while ago. The goal of the council conclusion was to prod the two parties back to the negotiating table, she said.

Israel has not yet officially responded to the EU’s ideas about possibly sanctioning Israel. Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he hoped the EU Foreign Affairs Council would refrain from linking Israel-EU bilateral relationship to the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians. “Any attempt to create such a stipulation is based on a misguided approach that does not contribute to stability, normalization or enhancement of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said. Israel will not freeze building in any Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem. “Anyone who dreams that the government of Israel will cave [to pressure] and will limit building in Jerusalem is mistaken,” Lieberman said. “We are prepared to defend our independence and sovereignty and there will be no compromise to that stance,” he said. “Any pressure to the contrary [by the US or the European Union] will be very counterproductive,’ Lieberman added. “We will never accept any definition of building in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem as settlement activity. There is broad consensus for that stand among Jews in Israel and abroad,” Lieberman said.

Former US Middle East envoy, Martin Indyk, said that the U.S.-Israel alliance “is crumbling” due to waning support for Israel among Democrats and “total disrespect” for the Obama administration among segments of the Israeli government. Indyk warned that U.S.-Israeli relations are at an all time low. “The U.S.-Israel relationship is critical and is essential to Israel’s survival,” Indyk said. “And the relationship is in trouble.” U.S. support for Israel is “the bedrock that Israel has always relied on … and I worry that bedrock is crumbling,” Indyk said. “We have a situation,” he said. “Support amongst Republicans for Israel is really high. … But the truth is that most Jews are Democrats, and amongst Democrats support for Israel is only something like 43 percent.”

However, Indyk reserved his harshest criticism against certain Israeli government officials saying, “On the Israeli side I see something which I’m really, really disturbed by, which is the total disrespect on the part of some on the right in Israel for the relationship with the United States,” Indyk said. “And that manifests itself with right wing politicians standing up criticizing our leaders, who are trying to do their best for Israel,” Indyk said. “Look to the [Israeli] Defense Minister, whose budget is supplemented to the tune of $3 billion dollars a year by the American taxpayer, standing up and calling the Secretary of State an obsessive messianic,” Indyk said. “That kind of attitude on Israel’s part is not ingratitude; it’s disrespect. It’s something that I find very, very disturbing.”

Likud political party central committee Chairman Danny Danon said that Israel cannot be bought. “President Obama is mistaken if he thinks American military aid, which is given for reasons of American strategic interests, buys him the right to dictate to Israel not to build in Jerusalem,” stated Danon.

Israel Finance Minister Yair Lapid said that Israel government decisions to build Jewish homes in East Jerusalem harms Israel’s relations with the US. “This past summer, Israel completed a military operation against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel is already struggling to preserve international support, why was it so urgent to create another crisis with the Americans at this time?” Lapid said.

Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that Israel will continue to build in Jerusalem and will not apologize for doing so. “In 1967, Jerusalem was liberated. This is our eternal united capital. However, there are those in the international community, who questions Israel’s right to Jerusalem. Jerusalem will forever remain the capital of Israel, the Jewish people’s capital, the city that we will continue to build and develop without apologizing for it,” he declared.

Finally, Israel Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis sharply criticized the European Union (EU) and the U.S. State Department for continuing to condemn Israel building Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. “Israel will continue to work to promote settlement on its land – just as every other country in the world does,” declared Akunis. “It is strange at this time, when terrorist groups of Islamic extremists slaughter innocents, behead journalists in front of the cameras and continue their journey of madness targeting the free world, what concerns foreign ministries around the world is the decision to build and develop the Gush Etzion region, which was and will remain the homeland of the Jewish people,” he added.

In other news relating to the peace process, the Israeli cabinet approved a law that would define Israel as a Jewish state that is governed by democratic values for all its citizens. Speaking at the start of the Likud faction meeting in the Israeli Knesset, Netanyahu recalled how on November 29, 1947 the UN General Assembly voted to establish a Jewish state in Israel. “66 years have passed since that day, and not a day goes by without the right of Jews to a national state of their own being undermined,” he said. “In order to provide a response to all those who doubt the right of Jews to have their own nation-state in the state of Israel, this Jewish State Law will secure Jewish rights in our country.” Netanyahu said. “In the state of Israel, every citizen has rights, regardless of religion, race, and gender, which are anchored in law. However, the national right of the Jewish people in Israel is not enshrined in law. Therefore we will insist that this law passes.”

According to the Jewish State Law, which was proposed by MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) and is backed by the Jewish Home party, all Jewish schools will teach Jewish history as well as Jewish tradition and heritage. Hebrew will be recognized as the only official language in Israel. Arabic, which as of now is considered an official language in Israel, will instead be given special status. The bill also declares that the State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people, in which a Jew can exercise his desire for self-determination in accordance with his historical legacy. This right to exercise national self-determination will be provided to Jewish people only. However, every resident, regardless of religion and nationality, will be entitled to preserve his or her heritage, culture and language.

An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.

The link to these articles are as follows:

1) IDF expands state land in West Bank by 4,000 dunams
2) US rebukes Israel over claim of West Bank land
3) Caught off guard, White House angered at timing of Jerusalem housing announcement
4) US warns East Jerusalem housing plans will ‘distance Israel from even its closest allies’
5) Netanyahu says White House criticism ‘un-American’
6) US hits back at Netanyahu: American values led us to fund Iron Dome
7) Britain condemns Israel’s ‘ill-judged’ West Bank land grab
8) EU condemns Israeli plans to build beyond Green Line
9) EU foreign ministers target settlements
10) EU threatens ‘further action’ to protect two-state solution
11) Liberman: ‘We will never stop building in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem’
12) Indyk Bashes Israel
13) Obama ‘Can’t Buy Control of Israel With Military Aid’
14) Lapid: West Bank land seizure harms Israel
15) Ya’alon: We’ll Build in Jerusalem And Won’t Apologize for It
16) Deputy Minister: We’ll Continue to Build in Our Land
17) Amid coalition tensions, Netanyahu to present ‘Jewish state’ bill to cabinet Sunday
18) Netanyahu: Cabinet will Vote on the Jewish State Law

From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).

We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).

Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,

Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l

You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:

1) Listen to the audio

In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:

1) The current situation with the Israel / Palestinian peace process

Five people were killed when two terrorists brutally attacked worshippers in a synagogue and yeshiva in the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem on November 18. Seven people were wounded, including two police officers. At around 7am, the terrorists – wielding massive knives and a gun – entered the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue on Harav Shimon Agasi Street, which includes both a synagogue and yeshiva (rabbinical seminary), and carried out attacks in more than one location. Four Rabbis were killed in the attack  — Rabbi Moshe Twersky, 59; Aryeh Kupinsky, 40; Rabbi Kalman Levine, 50; and Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, 68 — who were immediately buried in Jerusalem.

“Two terrorists entered the synagogue in the neighborhood of Har Nof. They attacked with an axe, a knife and a gun. Five worshipers were killed. The police who arrived at the scene shot and killed the two terrorists,” said Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri.

Yaakov Amos was praying in the synagogue at the time of the attack. “During the prayers, I heard shots and saw a worshiper wearing tefillin lying on the floor. The bastard passed me from the right while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and firing indiscriminately. Three people fell immediately, and I saw him keep on massacring people.” Amos said that, “one of the terrorists did not waste bullets and aimed directly at people. He fired and then looked at me, and chose people closer to him, shooting them at point blank range.”

Yossi Barzani, one of the worshipers in the synagogue, recounted the scary ordeal. “In the middle of prayers, two terrorists entered shouting ‘Allahu akbar’. The synagogue was in panic, and I tried to flee. At a certain stage, one of the terrorists approached me with a knife, and there was a chair and a table between us. “I drew back and ran from him and fled outside. In those moments, I asked God to save me. My prayer shawl got caught. I left it there and escaped. On the way out, I saw terrible sights and bodies.”

Akiva, a Magen David Adom paramedic, said that he was greeted at the scene by the sight of a worshiper with stab wounds. “Inside there was someone singing. I ran into the synagogue, there was a gunshot victim lying on the floor. I tried to treat him, but the gunfire started in my direction and we fled. I pulled the wounded man along,” he said. “The police arrived and surrounded the entrance and then the terrorist ran out and they shot him. there was wild gunfire. People ran out of the synagogue.”

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the shocking terrorist attack on the Jerusalem synagogue by saying, “We are at the height of a terror campaign focused on Jerusalem. In the middle of shacharit (morning) prayers five innocent and pure Jews were murdered. We send condolences to the families and wishes of recovery to the wounded, among them heroic police officers who prevented a heavy tragedy.” Relating to the terrorists, Netanyahu said “The human animals who perpetrated this slaughter were full of hatred and incitement, deep hatred and terrible incitement against the Jewish People and its state.

Palestinian sources named the terrorists as cousins Ghassan and Uday Abu-Jamal, from the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The families of the two terrorists who killed five people hailed the two as heroes, as candies to celebrate the attack were handed out in the West Bank and Gaza. Alaa Abu Jamal, a cousin of the terrorists, said that Israeli policies were to blame for the attack at the synagogue, when the two entered the compound during morning prayers, armed with meat cleavers and a gun.

“This occurred because of the pressures of the occupying Israeli government on the Palestinian people and in Jerusalem generally, and the ongoing harm to the al-Aqsa mosque; this act is something normal for any person who is connected to his people, to courage and to Islam. We got the usual death notification and we shouted with joy, people here also handed out candies to guests who came to visit and were happy for the martyrs.”

Residents of Gaza Strip praised the brutal attack. Fireworks were set off in celebration and from the mosques were heard chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is most great) in honor of the attack. Islamic Jihad also issued a statement, calling the attack “a natural response to the crimes of the occupier.” Loudspeakers at mosques in Gaza called out congratulations.

Fatah officials (the Palestinian sect of Mahmoud Abbas) made repeated statements in recent weeks praising deadly terror attacks on Israelis, and calling for “blood” to “purify” Jerusalem of Jews. According to Palestinian Media Watch, the head of the Media Department for Fatah in Lebanon Muhammad al-Biqa’i praised the Palestinians who carried out three recent terror attacks that killed four Israelis and left a rabbi in critical condition. Al-Biqa’i sent a blessing of “praise and esteem” to the killers saying, “They are the ones who heard the call of Yasser Arafat, while the Arab and Islamic nation ignored his call: ‘Millions of martyrs (shahids) are marching to Jerusalem,’” al-Biqa’i said. “They came out with their weapons, with their true belief that Jerusalem needs blood to purify itself of Jews.” Last week, a representative of the PA Ministry of Religious Affairs called on Palestinians to “rush to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices and blood.” Palestinian official Hassan al-Saifi said that “Jerusalem has no need of declarations or religious rulings, but rather needs the religious scholars in particular to fulfill their duty, rush to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices and blood.”

Palestinian radio reports described the attackers as “martyrs” and Hamas praised the attack.” Furthermore, Hamas said that terror attack at the Jerusalem synagogue saying the deadly incident was in response to the death of a Palestinian bus driver found hanged in his vehicle earlier in the week. Hamas called for additional attacks after two suspected Palestinian terrorists killed five people and wounded a number of others at the “Kehilat Yaakov” synagogue in Jerusalem. Amid an onslaught of unfounded claims in the Palestinian media that 32-year-old bus driver Yussuf al-Ramuni was murdered by Jewish settlers in Jerusalem, an autopsy report concluded the driver’s death was self-inflicted, resulting from hanging himself inside the vehicle. Hamas calls for the continuation of revenge operations and stresses that the Israeli occupation bears responsibility for tension in Jerusalem,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. “The attack in Jerusalem is a reaction to the crime and execution of the martyr al-Ramouni and a reaction to the crimes of the occupation, the Hamas movement is calling for more revenge attacks,” Hamas said on its official Al-Aksa TV.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the deadly attack, and called for an end to what he said was Israeli provocation over the Temple Mount. “The presidency condemns the attack on Jewish worshippers in their place of prayer, and condemned the killing of civilians no matter who is responsible,” said a statement from Abbas’ office. “We condemn all acts of violence from all sources, and demand an end to the invasions of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the provocations of settlers and the incitement by some ministers in the Israeli government.” The statement said that, “It’s time to end the occupation and to put an end to everything that makes violence and tension.”

Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Abbas comments by saying, “Abbas may have condemned the attack but that isn’t enough, because at the end of the same sentence he connected the event to imaginary acts that have no basis that he claims Israel is conducting on the Temple Mount.”

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) revealed that PA Supreme Sharia (Islamic law) Judge and Abbas’s adviser Mahmoud Al-Habbash appeared on official PA TV on November 5, after several attacks and hours before another one in Jerusalem that left two dead, where he clarified that Abbas is indeed inciting terrorism. “First of all, allow me to say that we kiss every forehead, every hand and even every foot that carries out ribat at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and in Jerusalem…We are behind them. The leadership is with them…we are with them in every movement, in every action and every deed, and we welcome what they are doing at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Al-Habbash said.

Referring to Abbas’s speech in mid October when he called to block Jews from “defiling” the Temple Mount by “all means necessary,” Al-Habbash noted “a few days ago, President (Abbas) greeted them, reinforced them and requested more ribat (religious war) from them. This statement may have angered the Israelis and the occupation, that the President is inciting the Palestinians from Jerusalem to religious war. Yes, we are inciting the people in Jerusalem to religious war. Religious war means to protect and to hold on to your ground,” said Al-Habbash in an admission of incitement. In his speech, Abbas said “we must all carry out religious war” so as to prevent Jews by “any means necessary” from entering the Temple Mount, because “they have no right to enter it.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for the gruesome terrorist attack on the Jerusalem synagogue and vowed to respond harshly. He said: “Hamas, the Islamic Movement and the Palestinian Authority are disseminating countless lies and falsehoods against the State of Israel. They are saying that the Jews are contaminating the Temple Mount. They are saying that we are planning to destroy the Holy Places, that we intend to change the order of prayer there – this is all lies. These lies have already claimed a very heavy price. This is the direct result of the incitement led by Hamas and Abu Mazen [Abbas], incitement that the international community irresponsibly ignores.” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will respond with a strong hand to the cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were caught by dark murderous hands.”

Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon also blamed the “incitement, lies and hate” circulated by the Palestinian Authority and Abbas. Ya’alon vowed that Israel will “chase down the perpetrators and those who sent them everywhere and in every way, within the borders of Israel and outside.”

Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman called on the international community to respond to what he said was Abbas’s anti-Semitic incitement, which he said caused the attack. “Abbas has turned the conflict into a religious conflict between Jews and Muslims and his systematic incitement that he leads against Jews — whom he defines as impure who are not allowed to enter the Temple Mount — is instructions to carry out nasty attacks like this,” said Liberman.

Israel Economy Minister Naftali Bennett,  the leader of the Jewish Home politial party also blamed Abbas for the attack. “Mahmoud Abbas, one of the greatest terrorists to come from the Palestinian people, is directly responsible for the spilled blood of Jews wearing tallit and tefillin,” he said, referring to images of the killings showing slain worshipers still wearing prayer shawls and phylacteries. “While we were busy with our fantasies about of the diplomatic process, we created for ourselves an interwoven infrastructure of terrorism and incitement. Abbas declared war on Israel, and we must treat it accordingly,” he added.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein echoed Bennett in blaming PA incitement for the attack and implied that Israel should cut ties with the Palestinians. “While we are making an effort and calling for calm, the brutal incitement by Palestinian Authority leaders continues and worsens,” Edelstein said. “Israel should not be dealing with those whose way is to slaughter innocents in our holy places,” he added.

As a result of the killing of the four rabbis of the Jerusalem synagogue, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the deployment of checkpoints at the entrance to East Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods. The prime minister also instructed security forces to carry out raids on the homes of suspected terrorists in the city. Under the new directives, police will conduct routine large-scale raids into problematic East Jerusalem neighborhoods. Police will be authorized to arrest those resisting the entry of law enforcers as well as demonstrators who verbally assault officers. Security forces will also be increased throughout the West Bank. Another plan under consideration is to order the positioning of security guards at public buildings, such as synagogues and places of entertainment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on world leaders to denounce the attack in a Jerusalem synagogue that claimed the lives of five people. “I call on all the leaders of countries in the Western world: I want to see outrage over this massacre. I want to see denunciation,” he said.

US President Barack Obama condemned the attack by two Palestinians on a synagogue in Jerusalem that killed five people, including three Americans. “I strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on worshipers at a synagogue in Jerusalem,” Obama said in a statement. “There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians. At this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a path forward towards peace,” he said.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama said US Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacks. “Tragically this is not the first loss of life that we have seen in recent months. Too many Israelis have died, too many Palestinians have died. And at this difficult time I think it’s important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions,” he said.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry branded the deadly terror attack at a Jerusalem synagogue as “pure terror”, and demanded that Palestinian leaders condemn the attack. “People who had come to worship God in the sanctuary of the synagogue were hatcheted and hacked and murdered in their holy place in an act of pure terror and senseless brutality,” said Kerry. “To have this kind of act, which is a pure result of incitement, of calls for ‘days of rage,’ of just irresponsibility, is unacceptable,” he said. “The Palestinian leadership must condemn this and they must begin to take serious steps to restrain any kind of incitement … and exhibit the kind of leadership that is necessary to put this region on a different path. This simply has no place in human behavior and we need to hear from leaders who are going to lead their people to a different place.”

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on Tuesday that Canada deplored the “savage” terror attack. “Attacks on innocent worshipers, in what is supposed to be a place of peace and tranquility, are cowardly and must never be tolerated,” said Baird. “Those engaging in these despicable terrorist acts, and those financing or morally supporting their actions, are responsible for further aggravating an already fraught and dangerous situation,” Baird added. “Canada reiterates that any statements of incitement are completely irresponsible. Those leaders who regularly issue them cannot plead ignorance or look the other way when terrorist attacks like today’s occur,” Baird continued.

Several other foreign ministers condemned the attack. The French foreign ministry said that “President Hollande strongly denounces the awful attack carried out in a synagogue in Jerusalem and those who dared to commend this act. He shares the grief of the families and of the Israeli people.” The German foreign minister, Frank Walter Steinmeier, said he hoped the attack would serve as a wake-up call, and that the overlap of political and religious issues in the conflict added a new and dangerous dimension.

While international leaders condemned the terrorist attack on the Jerusalem synagogue, some of the international media continued to report on the events in Israel in an eyebrow-raising shocking bias against Israel. US media outlet,CNN ran a headline stating that four Israelis and two Palestinians were killed in the attack, failing to note that the two Palestinians were the terrorists. In addition, CNN superimposed their preliminary coverage of the terror attack with the headline: “Deadly attack on Jerusalem mosque.”

An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.

The link to these articles are as follows:

1) Four people killed in terror attack at Jerusalem synagogue
2) Seven minutes of terror: Haunting accounts of a bloody morning prayer
3) Families of terrorists celebrate their attack, hail martyrs and heroes
4) Fatah official calls for blood to ‘purify’ Jerusalem of Jews
5) Hamas: Jerusalem synagogue attack in response to death of Palestinian bus driver found hanged
6) Palestinians in Gaza celebrate terror attack at Jerusalem synagogue
7) PM blames Abbas, calls emergency meet in wake of attack
8) PA Clarifies: ‘Abbas is Inciting for Religious War’
9) Netanyahu: ‘We Are at the Height of a Terror Campaign’
10) Netanyahu okays checkpoints in East Jerusalem neighborhoods
11) Netanyahu to world leaders: I want to see outrage over this massacre
12) Obama condemns J’lem synagogue attack, calls to lower tensions
13) ‘Guardian’ deletes reference to Palestinians, CNN labels synagogue ‘mosque’ 
14) Video of Jerusalem Synagogue Terror Attack

From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).

We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).

Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,

Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l

You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:

1) Listen to the audio

In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:

1) The current situation with the Israel / Palestinian peace process

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinians will submit a request later this month for the UN Security Council to recognize a PLO state based upon 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital while asking the Security Council to set a timeline for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines. Abbas said that if the Palestinians can secure 9 of the votes needed 15 votes needed for the proposal to be voted upon by all UN Security Council members that they would proceed with the statehood bid.

Wassel Yusef, a senior Palestinian official, said that the Palestinians will do so because “The US administration is pushing to resume bilateral negotiations, even while it’s clear that these have failed throughout the last few years.”

In a meeting with US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in the United States, chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, pleaded for the US to recognize a PLO state at the UN Security Council. He said, “Urgent steps from the international community to protect the two-state solution are needed, therefore, we urge the US administration to support our bid to the UN Security Council in order to establish the borders of a Palestinian state.”

In response, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that US Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated to Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat that the U.S. was opposed “to unilateral steps by either party that attempt to prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations.” Nothing has yet been formally presented at the United Nations, she said “so this is a preliminary discussion. And obviously having a back-and-forth and hearing from them is part of the reason to have a meeting.” Urging the UN Security Council to call for an end to the Israeli occupation “contradicts their stated goal of a two-state solution and having their own state, an aspiration we support,” Psaki added.

However,  Israeli cabinet members are warning that US President Barack Obama threatened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US may opt not to oppose future hostile UN Security Council votes, unless Israel accedes to American policy demands. Quoting Israel ministerial level sources, diplomatic correspondent, Ariel Kahana, said, “Netanyahu told colleagues in recent days … that his office’s understanding of the issue and the government’s take on it is that the Americans will not cast a veto against a resolution that reaches the Security Council.” The information was shared at a session of the Jewish Home political party leaders by Jewish Home political party leader, Naftali Bennett. The threat, at least as leaked, implies that the United States is prepared to abandon Israel in the dock of the world body, a step that could further destabilize relations between the two allies to an unprecedented degree, Kahana said.

Kahana spoke of a recent article in The Atlantic by Jeffery Goldberg – who is commonly seen as reflecting the US administration’s views towards Israel – referencing the US pressure, but from the American point of view: Citing what he called “red-hot” anger by the Obama administration “over Israel’s settlement policies,” and his view that “the Netanyahu government openly expresses contempt for Obama’s understanding of the Middle East,” Goldberg warned that “Profound changes in the relationship may be coming.”

“This is a precedent and a very dangerous step,” Kahana cautioned about the American threat, and said it was the most chilling thing he’d heard uttered in decades of Israel-US relations. “Beyond the abandonment of Israel, it also flies in the face of previous agreements with the Americans, including vis a vis the Egyptian peace deal in which the US would hold the line against such maneuvers,” Kahana noted. “The point is that one can’t trust anything the US says anymore, if the information is accurate,” according to Kahana. “If the US is able to betray Israel like this – what do other allies and foes think?” Kahana wondered aloud.

Former Italian foreign minister, Federica Mogherini, became the the new foreign policy chief of the EU on November 1. Upon doing so, she made a visit with Israel and the Palestinians. Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with her saying that Israel opposes unilateral moves by the Palestinians at the UN Security Council and the recognition of EU member states to recognize a PLO state as Sweden did recently. Netanyahu told Mogherini that it was totally “irresponsible” for European nations to do such a thing. “To accord, as some European countries have to a Palestinian state without demanding an equal recognition on their part to the nation-state of the Jewish people is irresponsible,” Netanyahu said. Furthermore, “To give recognition to a Palestinian state that doesn’t either recognize the Jewish state or agree to security arrangements that are necessary for its security and survival is also irresponsible. Therefore, I hope that  Europe will respond in a more balanced and more responsible manner” Netanyahu said.

Mogherini, however, was not swayed by Netanyahu’s words. “Jerusalem is not just a city, it’s not just a beautiful city, not just a capital, it is a potential capital of two states. It’s also a special place for plenty of people in the world, it’s a holy city, so I think that Jerusalem could show to the rest of the world that co-existing is possible, and this is I think the challenge for all of us, to show that Jerusalem can be shared. We are asking all in this moment, not in three months, not in six months not in one year, all in this moment to restart a political process that can reach for the two-state solution,” she said. “We see that there might be a political will to resume the talks and to especially make sure that these talks bring results. The settlements are an obstacle to the two-states solution, are illegal, and so the European Union is considering this as its position. The world “cannot afford” another war in Gaza and we need to see the creation of a “Palestinian state.” “We need a Palestinian state — that is the ultimate goal and this is the position of all the European Union,” she said.

On Jerusalem, Netanyahu told Mogherini that “Jerusalem is Israel’s capital and as such is not a settlement. The neighborhoods in which Jews live and in which we are building have existed for almost fifty years, under all Israeli governments. Everyone knows that in any peace settlement, they will remain part of Israel.” On the issue of settlements, Netanyahu said he reject the “outlandish claim that the root of the ongoing conflict is this or that settlement. The issue is not land, but rather our very existence and the refusal to recognize Israel with any borders.” On the issue of the Temple Mount, Netanyahu assured Mogherini that Israel is working to restore calm in Jerusalem and is committed to maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount, in which the Al-Aksa Mosque compound is controlled by the Islamic Wakf. Muslims have the sole right to pray there, but Jews and Christians can visit. We stand behind the status quo arrangements that have been there for many years. We will not allow them to be changed either by action or by legislation. We’ve been very clear about that,” Netanyahu said.

Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman chastised for its hyper-focus on Israeli building over in the West Bank and East Jerusalem while it ignored the violence that raged in other countries in the region. “Every day hundreds of people are killed and slaughtered around Israel. We are facing many challenges, more than all of the EU together,” he said. Europe, he said, “is disregarding this reality. We are trying to survive in a very difficult reality and instead of supporting Israel, you blame Israel every day,” Liberman said. A reporter asked Liberman if Israel planned to change its policies in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in light of European frustration over its settlement activity.

European officials and diplomats, the reporter said, “are coming to give you advice. What they hope is that Israel through this friendly advice would change its policies.” Liberman reacted to the question with anger, explaining that such European advice was “hypocritical.” Europe is not offering the same type of “advice” to Pakistan and India, even though a comprehensive peace is needed there, Liberman said. In light of the complex situation in the region, with violence in Iraq, Syria, Yemin and Libya he expected Europe to be more “sensitive” to Israel’s “security concerns,” Liberman said. Israel is the only country, in a tumultuous region, where control reigns, in spite of constant friction and tension with the Palestinians, Liberman said.

“Your [Europe’s] approach to Israel is exactly like the approach of Europe to Czechoslovakia in 1938,” said Liberman as he quoted an often used example of Europe failure to protect that former country from Nazi Germany. Israel, he said, is the only democratic country in the Middle East. “Every day you are coming with new pressure. It is a mistake. It is hypocritical. In the end of the day it will be counterproductive,” Liberman said. European support of Palestinian unilateral moves and or imposed solutions to the peace process, was particularly harmful, Liberman said.

He charged that Sweden’s decision last week to recognize Palestine as a state outside of a negotiated peace agreement, the first Western European country to do so, was a “cynical” step to exploit an international situation for its own domestic purposes. “This position will not advance peace, it will only distance a peaceful resolution and might even undermine all our efforts to achieve a strategic breakthrough in our relations with the Palestinians,” he said. The Swedish government, he charged, took that step to appease the Muslim community in its country, which is “25 times larger than the Jewish one.” It is also part of Sweden’s drive to receive the necessary support among UN nations, particularly the 57 Islamic states, to become a member state of the Security Council in the future, Liberman said.

The Swedish government, he said, had not told Israel of its decision to recognize a PLO state even though they promised to alert Israel in advance. “With this understanding in mind, it was very, very disappointing and surprising to hear of Sweden’s recent decision,” Liberman said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of dragging the region into a religious war and vowed that the Palestinians would never agree to Jewish prayer on the Muslim-controlled Temple Mount. “Israel’s leaders are making a huge mistake if they think they can now establish facts on the ground and divide prayer times at the al-Aqsa Mosque as they did at the Cave of the Patriarchs,” he said. “By doing these things they are leading the region and the world into a devastating religious war.”

Speaking after weeks of clashes between Israeli security forces and Arab residents of East Jerusalem, as well as a series of terror attacks in Jerusalem, Abbas also repeated the Palestinian pledge to make East Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian state.”The Muslim and Christian world will never accept Israeli claims that Jerusalem is theirs,” he said. “Jerusalem is our capital and we will never give this up; Jerusalem that was occupied in 1967 is our Jerusalem. We will safeguard and protect our holy places.”

As Arab rioting continues in East Jerusalem, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef urged Jews to stop attempting to enter the flashpoint Temple Mount, claiming that doing so was a religious offense. “We need to stop this, only then will the people of Israel’s blood not be spilt” the rabbi said. He stressed that going to the Temple Mount was a religious offensive punishable by death, adding that “it’s inconceivable that b-rate rabbis will argue with the Israelis most prominent and prestigious rabbis of Israel. It’s unthinkable that fourth-rate rabbis would argue with the great Torah scholars of Israel,” he said of those who permit Jews to visit the Temple Mount. Rabbi Yosef was referring to various Orthodox Jewish national religious rabbis who say that Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is permitted. The mainstream ultra-Orthodox rabbinic opinion is that according to the rulings of the rabbis, Jews may not visit the Temple Mount because the holiness of the site requires a ritual purification process that is not available in present times. However, the rabbis of the Orthodox Jewish national-religious community argue that it is possible to visit areas of the Temple Mount which do not require this level of ritual purity.

The ultra-Orthodox chief rabbi’s comments angered Temple Mount activist groups, which are almost entirely from the national-religious community, as well various Israeli Knesset members from the Jewish Home political party. Jewish Home party leader, Naftali Bennett, criticized Rabbi Yosef for implying that Jewish visitation to the site was responsible for the recent terror attacks in Jerusalem. “No, honorable chief rabbi,” wrote Bennett on his Facebook page would say this just because Arabs terrorists are murdering Jews. Israel Knesset member from the Jewish Home political party, Avraham Wortzman, said that Rabbi Yosef’s comments “express the essence of the exile mentality which the Jewish people suffered from throughout history, in which the victim is always at fault.”

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayu and his Likud political party central committee chairman, Danny Danon, agreed that the Likud primaries for the next election will be held on January 6. At a central committee meeting, Netanyahu spoke on various political issues facing Israel. Regarding the peace process, Netanyahu said, “I will never stop protecting Israel’s security and no international pressure will change that. Some say the way to deal with verbal and physical attacks is to give up and retreat. They have a formula: If you didn’t evacuate [settlements], you didn’t do anything,” Netanyahu said. Netanyahu rebuked those calling on him to take greater risks in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. “People want us to give up on our security, on everything. They call for me to take initiative. What’s the initiative they want, to jump off a cliff?” he asked. “Jumping toward the unknown can be destructive. People will applaud and compliment you for a few weeks or months, and then Israeli citizens will have to enter bomb shelters. We won’t go back to that.”

The prime minister spoke about issues facing the country. He echoed earlier statements about Iran – that he won’t let it reach the nuclear threshold and that Israel has the right to defend itself if the world powers reach a bad deal. He also spoke of rioting by Israeli Arabs and said that all citizens have to follow the law and that citizenship will be revoked from terrorists, as well as of the Palestinian Authority, adding its President Mahmoud Abbas encourages terrorism.

Netanyahu emphasized that Israel can only rely on itself: “For thousands of years… we could only pray to God. Now we are a strong nation with a strong army and determination to defend ourselves and our state. There is only one power that can protect us and that is ourselves, united and strong.” Then he turned to his party’s base, saying “the nation wants a strong Likud because only Likud can ensure a strong Israel. We are Likud, and no one else can lead the State of Israel,” he stated. The Likud leader called his party “alive and kicking,” and said it is one of the few parties to remain democratic and hold respectful internal debate.

An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.

The link to these articles are as follows:

1) Abbas: PA will ask UNSC for Israeli withdrawal from West Bank
2) Palestinians to submit UN resolution ‘this month’
3) Erekat asks Kerry to support Palestinian bid at UN
4) Washington Reiterates its Objection to PA’s UN Resolution
5) Obama Threatened Netanyahu With Dropping UNSC Veto Against Anti-Israel Moves‏
6) EU’s incoming foreign minister visits Israel
7) Top EU diplomat calls for Jerusalem to be shared capital
8) European unilateral recognition of Palestinian state irresponsible, Netanyahu tells EU’s Mogherini
9) ‘Israel faces more challenges than all of the EU put together,’ Liberman says
10) Abbas: Israel dragging region into regional war
11) Riots in Jerusalem as Chief Rabbi urges Jews not to enter Temple Mount
12) Netanyahu turns Right at Likud central committee meeting

From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).

We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).

Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,

Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l

You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:

1) Listen to the audio

In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:

1) The current situation with the Israel / Palestinian peace process

Sweden has become the first major European country to recognize a state of Palestine. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said: “Today’s recognition is a contribution to a better future for a region that has for too long been characterized by frozen negotiations, destruction and frustration. Some will state this decision comes too soon. I am afraid, rather, that it is too late. Our decision comes at a critical time because over the last year we have seen how the peace talks have stalled, how decisions over new settlements on occupied Palestinian land have complicated a two-state solution and how violence has returned to Gaza,” she said. “Together with other European countries, as well as the United States and other regional and international organizations, the government will now work to support renewed negotiations to reach a final agreement.” Wallstrom said Sweden’s move aimed at supporting moderate Palestinians and making their status more equal with that of Israel in peace negotiations, as well as giving hope to young people on both sides.

Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman denounced the Swedish government’s official recognition of a “Palestinian state” as “deplorable” saying it would undermine efforts to resolve the conflict. He said:  ‘The decision of the Swedish government to recognize a Palestinian state is a deplorable decision which only strengthens extremist elements and Palestinian rejectionism.” The Palestinian Authority immediately praised the decision. “President [Mahmoud] Abbas welcomes Sweden’s decision,” spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said saying the Palestinian leader described the move as “brave and historic.” Abbas called for other countries to follow Sweden’s lead. “All countries of the world that are still hesitant to recognize our right to an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital, (should) follow Sweden’s lead,” he said. Seven EU members in eastern European and the Mediterranean have already recognized a Palestinian state – Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Romania. Non-EU member Iceland is the only other western European nation to have done so.

In an interview with a senior Obama administration official, Jeffrey Goldberg, of the Atlantic magazine asked the question regarding what foreign leader makes the US most frustrated. The senior Obama administration official responded by saying that it was Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then, the official referred to Netanyahu as “chickensh*t”. This comment is representative of the brutal manner in which American and Israeli officials now talk about each other behind closed doors and is yet another sign that relations between the Obama and Netanyahu governments have moved toward a full-blown crisis. The relationship between Israel and the US is now the worst it’s ever been and it may get worse after the US midterm elections on November 4.

There is hints that the US may withdraw their diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations in the next couple of months. Obama administration officials are expressing “red-hot anger” at Netanyahu for pursuing settlement policies on the West Bank, and building policies in Jerusalem, that they believe have fatally undermined Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace process. Goldberg believes that the Obama administration may be looking to make Israel pay direct costs for its settlement policies. Next year, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, will quite possibly seek full UN recognition for a state of Palestine. Goldberg believes that the US will still try to block such a move in the UN Security Council but it might do so by helping to support a stridently anti-settlement resolution in its place. Such a resolution would isolate Israel from the international community.

US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the statement made by the senior Obama administration official who called Netanyahu, “chicketsh*t”.  The insults were “disgraceful, unacceptable and damaging,” said Kerry. Kerry also vowed to work “quietly and effectively” to restart the failed “peace process” with the Palestinian Authority (PA), saying that the endeavor is “doable, but it takes courage and strength.” Apparently, it seems that the term “chickensh*t” was used in an attempt to condemn Netanyahu for not being “brave enough” to make extraordinary concessions to the PA that would put Israel in existential danger and forfeit critical parts of the Jewish state for “peace.”

In an interview with Israel Radio, columnist Jeffrey Goldberg said that he wasn’t surprised that Kerry would distance himself from the anonymous Obama official who made the comment saying, “That’s a completely normal course of events, someone tells the truth and then because the truth isn’t diplomatic, they have to say they weren’t authorized to speak,” he said. He said Obama believes Netanyahu is a smart, tough negotiator, but that Obama believes that Netanyahu doesn’t “spend his political capital in a particularly risky or brave way.” Goldberg drew these conclusions after his many personal talks with President Obama.

Goldberg said Netanyahu has “written off” Obama, but Obama has not “written off” Netanyahu. He says that Secretary of State John Kerry is the “last man standing” and could still come through with a peace deal. The sense is, Goldberg said, that “Israel needs the US more than the US needs Israel,” and that “there is a feeling, especially when it comes to the defense minister, that they’ve been treated disrespectfully.” The veteran reporter claimed that the situation could still be remedied if Netanyahu was willing to make compromises, especially regarding the settlements.  “For it to be reversed, from the American standpoint, they would have to see the Israeli government take some of the steps Obama has been asking for for years.” Goldberg said “provocative moves” are the “core of their [Obama officials] anxiety,” and that the settlements are the “key sources of tension.” He concluded by saying: “Unless Netanyahu is able to take control from some of the right wing members of [his] cabinet, no, I don’t think things will get better.”

A leading figure in Netanyahu’s Likud political pary, MK, Miri Regev, who chairs the Knesset’s Interior Committee, condemned the comments made by the unnamed Obama senior government offical by saying, “With all due respect for Obama, who is he to hand out grades to the prime minister? The utterances are unacceptable and constitute intervention in Israel’s affairs by President Obama. Jews will build homes everywhere in the Land of Israel, including eastern Jerusalem, and the Arabs can also live anywhere in the state of Israel,” she said.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to these comments by saying, “I am being attacked because I’m defending Israel. I respect our relationship with the US but I’m not ready to make concessions that would endanger our country.”  With regards to Jeusalem, Netanyahu said, “Our vital interests, first and foremost our security and a unified Jerusalem, are not the uppermost interests of the unnamed officials who attacked our government and me personally. I’m being attacked simply because I defend the State of Israel… Despite all the attacks against me, I will keep defending our country and Israel’s people. Israel’s economic minister and the leader of the Jewish Home political party, Naftali Bennett, rebuked the US for “throwing Israel under the bus.” The Israel Prime Minister is “the leader of the Jewish State and the entire Jewish people. Cursing the prime minister and calling him names is an insult not just to him but to the millions of Israeli citizens and Jews across the globe.”

In an editorial in the Jeruslem Post, it was pointed out that this is just the latest in a series of vindictive acts by the Obama administration because Israel has dared to reject its diktats. Nothing illustrates President Obama’s contemptuous attitude toward Israel more than his directive to withhold arms to Israel during wartime because Israel had rejected Kerry’s initiative to engage Qatar as the mediator to end the Gaza hostilities. The Obama administration adamantly insists that the Israel – Palestine status quo is untenable. Yet it remains silent as Hamas boasts of efforts to restore its tunnel network in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas humiliated the US administration by merging with Hamas without prior consultation. Furthermore,  the US failed to criticize this move nor has condemned Abbas for killing any Palestinian found selling land to an Israeli. Netanyahu should be commended for his extraordinary diplomatic balancing act in withstanding the unreasonable pressure from Obama and Kerry, avoiding outright confrontations and in so doing, retaining the support of American public opinion and Congress.

The US administration is planning to present a proposal to resume the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians after the mid-term elections for Congress on November 4. The report came as State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki announced that a Palestinian delegation would arrive in the US on November 3 for high-level talks on ways to move forward with the stalled peace talks and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian sources, the new US proposal consists of three points: ending construction in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem; suspending the Palestinian bid at the UN Security Council for a resolution setting a timeline for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines; and resuming the peace talks from the point where they ended last April. The initiative is being prepared by the US State Department and will be officially presented by the end of this year or the start of next year.

Western diplomatic sources said the Americans had received a promise from the Palestinians to postpone a potential draft resolution at the UN Security Council until after the November 4 US congressional elections to help the Obama administration avoid having to use its veto prior to the elections. These sources say that for the first time, the US is considering abstaining from using its veto power to prevent recognition of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its captial at the UN Security Council attributing this possibility to two factors: the first is the Obama administration’s overall dissatisfaction with Netanyahu’s policies and positions; and the second is that the Palestinian draft resolution used mild language appropriate for the Americans.

Palestinian news sources indicated that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will reject the US peace proposal. Instead the Palestinians plan to ask the UN Security Council to vote on recognizing a PLO State with East Jerusalem as its capital in early 2015. The Palestinians are not confident that they have 9 members on the UN Security Council who would agree to bring the proposal to a vote. However, on January 1, there will be 5 new security council members more supportive of the Palestinian cause who will replace 5 countries who are less supportive. The new security council members on January 1 will be: Venezuela, Angola, New Zealand, Spain and Malaysia. They will be replacing Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, South Korea and Rwanda.

Yehuda Glick, a leading advocate for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount, was shot 4 times outside the Begin Heritage center in Jerusalem where he was giving a speech entitled, “Israel returns to the Temple Mount.” In the past, Glick was the Executive Director of the Temple Institute, a Jewish religious organization which is dedicated to the rebuilding of the Temple. Recently, he founded the Initiative for Jewish Freedom on the Temple Mount. Glick was shot after a terrorist pulled up on a motorcycle and  asked Glick to identify himself indicating that it was a targeted assassination before leaving the scene. Glick was taken to a local Jerusalem hospital where he was immediately taken to surgery. He is in critical but stable condition. Palestinians in the Old City of Jerusalem set off fireworks in celebration of the shooting. Israel Housing Minister Uri Ariel said that the bullets fired at Glick “were aimed at all Jews who wish to pray on the Temple Mount.”  Uriel demanded access to all Jews on the Temple Mount in response to the shooting.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that incitement by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was partly to blame for the shooting of Yehuda Glick. “I said only days ago that we are facing a wave of incitement by radical Islamic elements and by Palestinian Authority head Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], who said that the ascent of Jews to the Temple Mount needs to be prevented by every means,” Netanyahu said. “I still have not heard one word of condemnation from the international community against this incitement. The international community needs to stop its hypocrisy and act against the inciters, those who are trying to change the status quo,” Netanyahu said.

The terrorist shooter has been identified as, Muataz Hijazi, who a member of the movement, Islamic Jihad. A representative of Islamic Jihad, Daud Shihab, said that the organization supports the struggle for Jerusalem. Shihab said that “the attempt to hurt Rabbi Glick is a natural response of Palestinians who are trying to protect the Temple Mount.” He continued and said his organization supports the Intifada in east Jerusalem. “Just like we were at the heart of the struggle in Gaza, that’s what we’ll do in Jerusalem.”

The shooter lived in East Jerusalem. He had been employed at a restaurant where the Jerusalem’s Begin Center was located. He left work about 1/2 hour before the shooting took place. After the shooting, Israel counter-terrorism Police officers arrived at the suspect’s house and attempted to arrest him when they came under fire. The Israel police returned the fire and killed the shooter as he yelled, “Allah Akbar”. The motorcycle and pistol used in the shooting of Yehuda Glick was found at the shooters house.

He has spent 11 years in Israeli prison over security-related offenses. In 2000, Hijazi was sentenced to 6 years in prison for a series of arson attacks in Jerusalem. His jail time was extended while in prison after he wounded two prison wardens in the face with a razor blade. He was released in 2012, after spending some of his imprisonment in isolation because of his violent behavior.

In an interview following his release from the Israeli prison, Hijazi said: “I’m glad to be back in Jerusalem. I hope to be a thorn in the Zionist plan of Judaizing Jerusalem. What makes me most happy is to return to Jerusalem to be among my family and people.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian shooter would go to heaven as a martyr. Abbas said: “With anger, we have received the news of the vicious assassination crime committed by the terrorists of the Israeli occupation army against [your] son Mu’taz Ibrahim Khalil Hijazi, who will go to heaven as a martyr defending the rights of our people and its holy places.”

Netanyahu condemned the words of Abbas. “While we are trying to calm the tense situation, Abbas sends a condolence letter over the death of someone who tried to commit an abominable murder,” Netanyahu said. Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman criticized Abbas by saying, “these words prove more than anything that Abbas is indeed a partner – a partner for terror, a partner for terrorists, a partner for murderers. This despicable letter by Abbas openly supports terror and encourages more killings. I call on the international community to condemn this man who is leading the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to violent and horrible places,” Lieberman said.

After the shooting, Netanyahu held a special meeting on the shooting and increase in tensions and violence in Jerusalem. In attendance were the defense minister, security minister, the head of the Shin Bet, the police chief, the mayor of Jerusalem and IDF representatives, among other officials. He said, “I have ordered a major increase in presence of forces…so that we can maintain a safe Jerusalem and also keep the status quo in holy sites.” Netanyahu concluded by saying that “the struggle here can be long and drawn out, but here, like all the other struggles, we need to put out the flames. Neither side needs to take the law into their hands, we need to act calmly, responsibly and decisively.”

In order to protect against increased violence in Jerusalem over the issue of having access to and praying on the Temple Mount, Netanyahu ordered the Temple Mount closed to prayers for Jews and Muslims for several days. In response Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that this is a “declaration of war,” not only on the Palestinian people and their sacred sites, but on the entire Arab and Islamic nation.

An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.

The link to these articles are as follows:

1) Sweden officially recognizes Palestinian state
2) Liberman Issues Biting Response to Sweden Palestine Recognition
3) After Sweden’s recognition of Palestine, Liberman says ‘issues more complex than Ikea furniture’
4) Jeffrey Goldberg: Obama doesn’t think Netanyahu is a brave leader
5) Leading Likud MK Blasts Obama’s ‘Chutzpah’
6) Netanyahu hits back: I’m being attacked because I defend Israel
7) Netanyahu: Israel Facing an Attack on its Right to Exist
8) Kerry Calls ‘Chickens**t’ Slur ‘Disgraceful and Damaging’
9) Candidly Speaking: Obama is seeking a confrontation with Israel
10) US administration to unveil peace talks proposal
11) Palestinian delegation leaves to Washington to meet Kerry
12) Abbas to present US peace framework to PLO
13) Palestinians will wait until January to seek UN recognition
14) Breaking: Temple Mount Advocate Yehuda Glick Shot in Jerusalem
15) Activist was threatened before assassination attempt, friends say
16) Police brace for violence after right-wing activist shot in Jerusalem
17) Islamic Jihad: Glick incited death of Abu Khdeir; he got what he deserved
18) In past interview, Islamic Jihad shooter ‘wished to be a thorn in the throat of Zionists’
19) Assassin was a serial arsonist, assaulted 3 wardens in prison
20) Suspected shooter of Temple Mount activist killed in gunfight
21) Bennett: Glick Shooting Crossed a ‘Red Line of Blood’
22) PM blames Abbas for inciting shooting of Jewish activist
23) Abbas sent condolence letter to family of Glick’s shooter
24) Abbas says Glick shooter will go to heaven as martyr
25) Netanyahu: Struggle over Jerusalem may be long, but we must act with composure
26) Abbas: Closing of Temple Mount tantamount to declaration of war

From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).

We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).

Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,

Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l