“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122: 6
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Dr. Jim Eckman—Vladimir Putin’s Worldview and the Resurgence of Russia:
About two years ago, Vladimir Putin began his third term as President of Russia, with his declared objective being to launch a 21st century resurgence of Russia. Rhetorically, he has embraced Russia’s imperial past, which has brought him into conflict with the West, especially the United States. Ukraine is the most recent manifestation of this resurgence. There are two key elements of his worldview that are germane to his actions in Ukraine and to his vision of a resurgent Russia.
First, I want to repeat a segment from Issues in Perspective of a few weeks ago: Putin evidences a dependence on three 19th and 20th century Russian philosophers—Nikolai Berdyaev, Vladimir Solovyov and Ivan Ilyin. According to columnist David Brooks, Putin was personally involved in getting Ilyin’s remains re-buried on Russian soil. At that event, Putin said, “It’s a crime when someone only begins talking about the separation of Russia and the Ukraine.” Ilyin’s writings are apparently most influential in framing Putin’s worldview. Ilyin wrote that “We trust and are confident that the hour will come when Russia will rise from disintegration and humiliation and begin an epoch of new development and greatness.” He also wrote that “We know that Western nations don’t understand and don’t tolerate Russia’s identity. . . They are going to divide the united Russian ‘broom’ into twigs to break these twigs one by one.” Another Putin favorite is a utopian novel set in 2054 (Third Empire: The Russia that Ought to Be), in which a ruler named Vladimir II integrates eastern Ukraine into a new Russian Union. Brooks cites three specific ideas from all these writers that inform Putin’s worldview: (1) Russian exceptionalism: “the idea that Russia has its own unique spiritual status and purpose.” (2) Devotion to Orthodox Christianity. (3) A commitment to an autocratic form of government.
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David Savage and David Sanger: Deal to Free Bowe Bergdahl Puts Obama on Defensive— The White House argued on Tuesday that the “unique circumstances” presented by the opportunity to return Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl gave President Obama the authority to lawfully bypass a federal statute requiring the Pentagon to notify Congress a month before he transferred the five Taliban detainees necessary to complete the deal. But the White House was forced by turns to defend its decision not to notify Congress and to send important aides to apologize to angry lawmakers who said they were left out of the decision.
Reuters: With Erdogan set to grow more powerful, Turkey likely to become more polarized— On the first anniversary of nationwide protests that shook Prime Minster Tayyip Erdogan’s rule, barely a thousand anti-government demonstrators marched in Istanbul on Saturday. Outnumbered by riot police, they were soon sent scurrying into side streets by tear gas and water cannon. Their scant numbers were an illustration of Erdogan’s tightening grip on power despite a year punctuated by street protests, international criticism of his response and allegations of government corruption. Erdogan, an aide told Turkish television the same day, would remain in power until 2023, having won a presidential election that will be held in August. Changes to the constitution would bestow greater powers on the presidency, the aide predicted.
Adel Shoeir: Egypt: Why Sisi might struggle to deliver— Although his victory was never in doubt, Egypt’s new President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi made highly ambitious promises during his campaign. Now he is in power, turning them into reality will require more than just huge sums of money. He has pledged to build 26 new tourist resorts, eight new airports and 22 industrial cities – in addition to solving chronic problems like high unemployment, fuel shortages and subsidies that are draining the budget. He has also promised to cultivate 1.6m hectares (4m acres) of desert in a country suffering from a scarcity of water.
Yoram Ettinger: Shavuot Guide for the Perplexed, 2014— 1. It has been customary to pave the road to Shavuot from Passover by studying the six chapters of The Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkey Avot in Hebrew), which is one of the 63 tractates of the Mishnah (the Oral Torah) – a compilation of common sense principles, ethical and moral teachings, and underlying inter-personal relationships. For example: “Who is respected? He who respects other persons!”, “Who is a wise person? He who listens to other persons!”
Peter Huessy: Iran: False Assumptions— The U.S. already failed to detect nuclear programs on four other occasions: Iraq – 1991, Syria – 2009, North Korea – 2000-1 and Libya – 2005. That is quite a record. Terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, regularly launch rocket attacks on Israel, but because they are not “recognized state actors” launching rocket attacks on another sovereign state, we do not put the min the same category. All terrorist groups attacking a state therefore get a free pass. A nuclear device in the hands of such terrorist groups — chosen precisely because they cannot be readily identified as working for, or connected to, a state — can therefore be used in an attack with impunity, totally undermining the assumption that such weapons in the hands of Iran are “only for deterrence.”
Caroline Glick: Shimon Peres’ legacy— On June 10, the Knesset will elect President Shimon Peres’s successor. As he departs the President’s Residence at the end of June, the media will provide saturation coverage of his final days and tell us over and over that Peres is the greatest statesman in Jewish history. His personal gravitas is Israel’s single most important asset in the world, they will say as they warn of our bleak future without him. The upcoming Peres-is-a-Superhero festival will just be the latest of the narcissistic, tasteless celebrations of this man, always choreographed expertly by Peres and his retinue of media groupies. Like his 80th and 85th birthdays, Peres’s 90th birthday celebration went on for a month. As the serving president, his last two monthlong benders cost the taxpayers millions of shekels and broke the budget of the President’s Residence. All were replete with international celebrity guests like Nelson Mandela, Bono and Bill Clinton whom the press drooled over.
Itamar Sharon: Israel: Unity Agreement Makes Abbas Directly Responsible for Terror from Gaza—Israel’s security cabinet on Monday vowed to hold the new Palestinian Authority unity government responsible for any rockets fired at Israel from Gaza as well as any other hostile action emanating from Gaza or the West Bank. The security cabinet also voted to reject any negotiations with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas. The cabinet also voted to prevent any terror organizations from participating in future Palestinian elections.
Avi Issacharoff: PA Government Is Unified, But Palestinians Aren’t—Hamas’ military wing, with tens of thousands of armed members, will continue to manage Gaza on the security front, though its prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, resigned and his place will be filled by Rami Hamdallah, Abbas’ choice. All the central ministries were handed to Abbas cronies. Hamas agreed to the deal because it is on the verge of bankruptcy. Every government office will have both Hamas and Fatah officials. The test for the new government isn’t the fact that it got established, but its (questionable) ability to govern.
Ron Ben-Yishai: Impact of the New Palestinian Unity Government—The main drawback of the Palestinian reconciliation government for Israel is in the security arena. The PA security apparatus is no longer acting in full force against Hamas actions as they did in the past. As a result of this, Israeli security forces need to do most of the prevention work themselves. Moreover, the unity agreement will provide Hamas with the financial oxygen it needs to continue breathing. The agreement will make it possible for Hamas to continue to govern in Gaza while expanding its support in the West Bank. In the long term, Hamas will slowly conquer the West Bank through the democratic process, as well as take over the Palestinian organization that the UN recognizes – the PLO.
Nidal Al-Mughrabi: Palestinian Reconciliation Hobbled by Continued Disunity—The new Palestinian unity government will provide a veneer of harmony but little change on the ground, analysts say. The government, packed with little-known technocrats and academics, will manage day-to-day problems like a glorified municipality, but decisions regarding diplomacy and security will be taken elsewhere. “Such a government won’t be able to end the divisions. It is rather a political body aimed at managing the division,” said Hani Al-Masri, a West Bank political analyst. “Forming a government is a symbolic step. It is a good step, but we should not exaggerate the expectations,” said George Giacaman, the dean of graduate studies at the West Bank’s Birzeit University. “For the Israelis, it is not a very good idea to let Hamas maneuver tactically for the purpose of trying to increase its power ultimately both in the West Bank and the PLO, while maintaining exclusive control in Gaza,” said Ehud Yaari, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Abbas has accepted the principle of a demilitarized Palestinian state, but Gaza is not demilitarized. Nothing is going to change.”
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Herzog: Int’l recognition of Palestinian gov’t proves Netanyahu diplomatic failure
Israel: US sanctioning terrorism by okaying ties with Palestinian unity government
International community welcomes Palestinian unity government
Hamas official: Formation of unity gov’t is ‘surrender on part of Hamas’
Kerry says US to work with, monitor new Palestinian government
13-year-old boy sent to carry out a hit, stashes bomb in Bat Yam park
Suspect in Jewish museum shooting refuses extradition to Belgium
Report: International Olympic Committee pledges funds for ‘Munich massacre’ memorial
Five years after Cairo speech, Arabs warm to Obama – if ever so slightly
European Jewish Congress president: ‘Public’ anti-Semitism is part of normal life in Europe
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Kerry Defends US Decision to Work with ‘Palestinian Unity Gov’t’
Security Officials Prepared for ‘Naksa Day’ Violence
G7 to Focus on Syria Foreign Fighters after Brussels Attack
Terrorist Tries to Stab Soldier Near Beit El
Samaria Jews Protest Surge of Arab Terror
The PA, Peaceful? Tapuah Terrorist a Fatah Member
Two Hurt in Samaria Muslim Riots
Jordan Condemns Israel Over Temple Mount
Hareidim Contemplating Who to Support
State Legal Expert: Infiltrators Are Not Refugees
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Jordan pans limited Muslim access to Temple Mount
‘France was warned in advance about Brussels killer’
‘Slain’ Sinai terror leader likely still alive
As Presbyterians mull divestment, Jewish groups worry
Israel denounces US for accepting Abbas’s Hamas-backed government
PM ‘deeply troubled’ by US acceptance of PA leaders
Senior US lawmakers call to cut off aid to PA
US Jewish groups cast PA unity as rejection of peace
Israel restricts movement of Palestinian ministers
Israeli ambassador rebukes US for backing PA unity
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Obama admits that Taliban prisoner swap for Bergdahl could put Americans in danger
Rohani ‘To Defend’ Iran’s Nuclear Rights
Iran Launches “Hizbullah Syria” to Open a New Front Against Israel on the Golan Heights
US reaffirms: No weapons will go to Ukraine
US Urges Accountability, Transparency for New Egyptian Leader
Day After Unity Deal, Hamas Lauds Terrorist Shooting at Israeli Checkpoint
The Lebanonization of the Palestinians
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Email Distribution List:
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Genesis 7: 6-12
6 Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth. 7 Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood. 8 Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that creeps on the ground, 9 there went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. 12 The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
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The Palestinian Charter Still Calls for Israel’s Destruction
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Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
