“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122: 6
________________________________________
#####
Gwen Ackerman and Caroline Alexander—Israel Finds Silent Backing Among Arab Nations Hostile to Hamas:
As Israel seeks to sideline Hamas in any accord on the Gaza Strip’s future, it’s finding quiet support among Arab nations where antagonism toward the Islamist group eclipses their enmity toward the Jewish state.
Egypt, which mediated a second 72-hour halt to Gaza fighting yesterday, is now ruled by an army chief who presided over a crackdown on Hamas’s Islamist patrons. Saudi Arabia’s king didn’t explicitly criticize Israel in a recent lament over civilian deaths in Gaza. The United Arab Emirates, which pledged aid to help rebuild the coastal strip, is also hostile to political Islam.
There’s an “alignment of interests” between nations that aren’t allies yet have “common adversaries,” said Martin Indyk, vice president of the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former U.S. negotiator in the Middle East. “As they see that the U.S. is less engaged than it was before, it’s natural that they look to each other — quietly, under the table in most respects — to find a way to help each other.”
Talks in Cairo first delivered a three-day truce that collapsed Aug. 8 amid a barrage of Hamas rockets. Yesterday’s accord was contingent on an end to the rocket attacks, Israeli officials said. Israel and Hamas are pressing for an agreement that addresses issues earlier pacts didn’t resolve. Hamas wants to end the blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt, while Israel seeks to demilitarize the territory.
[…]
To continue reading, click here.
SnyderTalk Comment: The world at large doesn’t know or care that Arab nations, those who know Hamas best, want that crime syndicate/terrorist organization eliminated. Marching in the streets of major cities across the globe has little or nothing to do with Hamas or Palestinians and almost everything to do with Israel and Jewish people. The protesters are just pawns in a massive PR game. Regrettably, there is no shortage of anti-Semites who have time on their hands and are willing to act like fools.
Barack Obama and John Kerry know better. They aren’t being manipulated; they are manipulating. The problem is that Obama and Kerry represent our country, and our country will be held accountable for their misdeeds. Keep that in mind.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Yair Lapid: The Betrayal of the Intellectual— I don’t accuse intellectuals of bias or of anti-Semitism but too many of them are certainly guilty of intellectual laziness. Too many American and European intellectuals have taken moral relativism to its absurd extreme, falling back upon the ‘validity of every narrative’ and repeating the mantra that ‘every story has two sides.’ They treat those who have a clear moral stance as primitive. For them, if you take a moral stand or choose a side in a conflict you must lack the necessary tolerance to “see the other side.” It seems a distant memory but not long ago intellectuals did the exact opposite. They were the ones who helped us differentiate between good and evil, between right and wrong, between justice and injustice. They didn’t delve into the childhood of Senator McCarthy or ask whether the Germans felt a genuine sense of hardship. The debate wasn’t over feelings but the essence of truth. The betrayal of the intellectuals was especially noticeable during the days of the operation in Gaza.
SnyderTalk Comment: My admiration for Yair Lapid is growing by the day. Noam will be happy about it.
Vasudevan Sridharan: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Clerics Sanction ‘Anal Jihad’ for Lonely Militants Fighting Far From Their Wives—A prominent Egyptian cleric has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of sanctioning ‘anal jihad’ for Islamic militants who are fighting in locations thousands of miles from their wives. In his televised comments, which were broadcast by the al-Tahrir channel, the preacher Mazhar Shahin said the Muslim fighters are being authorised to freely practice homosexuality under the pretext of waging “jihad in the name of Allah.” The idea was compared with ‘sex jihad’ – where women are either kidnapped and forced to have intercourse or females who offer themselves to the fighters who are waging jihad. However, the Islamic cleric say the Muslim Brotherhood holy men’s approval of homosexual acts is a “catastrophe”.
SnyderTalk Comment: You can’t make up stuff like this.
Joshua Levitt: Palestinian Envoy to Iran: Israel’s Annihilation Just Started— Palestinian Authority Envoy to Tehran Salah al-Zawawi told supporters of Gaza on Tuesday that “Israel’s annihilation has begun and the new generation in Iran will certainly witness our victory over Israel,”according to Iranian semi-official state news agency Fars.”The U.S. and the Western countries have created a fake regime in Palestine to get rid of it and have supplied it with the most advanced weapons and are seeking to create an Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates,” Zawawi said. On Monday, Hamas Envoy to Tehran Khaled Al-Qadoumi told a conference of Gaza supporters that, “The only mechanism for liberating Palestine is resistance and we have no option other than supporting the resistance,” according to Fars, which also cited him as saying “that Hamas will not talk to those who are willing to make compromise and have negotiations with Israel.”
Deroy Murdock: IDF Details Hamas’ Use of Civilian Areas as Missile Bases—The tactically adroit Israel Defense Forces are doing an ever-better job of fighting the information war. Throughout Operation Protective Edge, IDF maps, graphics, videos, and other communications tools have illustrated Hamas’s consistent and routine transformation of civilian areas into launch pads for some 3,000 rockets blasted wildly into Israel. The IDF also has informed the world about its leaflets, phone calls, and text messages that urge Gazans to seek shelter before Israel neutralizes Hamas’s hostile-fire installations. As the debate roars on about the current war between Israel and Hamas, these IDF materials arm Israel’s friends, challenge its open-minded critics, and embarrass its enemies. IDF now has created an outstanding document that resembles an unsealed indictment against Hamas — a State Department–designated foreign terrorist organization. “Hamas War Tactics: Attacks from Civilian Centers,” is an apparent PowerPoint presentation by the IDF’s Military-Strategic Information Section. Its subtitle says it all: “Evidence of Hamas’ Violations of International Law through Use of Civilian Facilities and Densely Populated Areas for Terror.”
Terry Atlas, John Walcott and David Lerman: US Officials Weigh Next Moves to Defeat Iraq Extremists—The U.S. is pursuing a four-pronged strategy to thwart Islamic State extremists in Iraq and avert a collapse of the oil-rich nation, while plans to do more depend on the outcome of the leadership struggle in Baghdad. The steps to deal with the immediate crisis include some that have been made public, such as limited airstrikes and sending arms to the Kurds, and some that haven’t, such as providing battlefield intelligence to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and pressing Sunni Arab nations to support the fight against the insurgents, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because elements of the evolving approach are classified.
Mark Lavie: Why Everything Reported from Gaza Is Crazy Twisted— You’re seeing civilians dying and suffering in Gaza. You’re seeing the destruction Israel’s military operation against Hamas has caused. You’re hearing from Israel that Hamas is firing rockets from crowded neighborhoods, using helpless Gaza civilians as human shields, forcing them to stay in their neighborhoods in defiance of Israeli warnings to leave. Why aren’t you hearing that from Gaza? Often, it’s because reporters are afraid to tell you. True, in some cases, it’s anti-Israel bias. In others, it’s bad journalism—covering the story you can easily see above ground, like destruction, misery, death and funerals, instead of digging for the real story: Why this is happening and how the powerful are operating behind the scenes or underground—again, literally. It’s the scourge of 21st century “journalism,” with its instant deadlines, the demands to tweet and blog constantly, the need to get something out there that’s more spectacular than the competition, and check the facts later, if at all. Add to that the cruel cutbacks by news organizations around the world. It all means that fewer and fewer reporters have to file more and more stories, and file partial reports while they’re working. It’s impossible. I allow myself the quotation marks around “journalism” because I’ve been a journalist for half a century (I started young), covering the region since 1972, and I fear my profession is not what it used to be, and not for the better.
Dennis Ross: Hamas Could Have Chosen Peace; Instead, It Made Gaza Suffer—In 2005, I told an audience of 200 Gazans that Israel’s upcoming withdrawal from the territory was a time of opportunity for Palestinians. I said this time they had the power to shape their future. But if Palestinians instead turn Gaza into a platform for attacks against Israel, they could not blame the Arabs, the Europeans, the Americans – or the Israelis. Unfortunately, we know the path Hamas chose. Some argue that Israel withdrew but imposed a siege on Gaza. In reality, Hamas produced the siege. Israel’s tight embargo on Gaza came only after ongoing Hamas attacks. At times, I argued with Israeli leaders and security officials, telling them they needed to allow more construction materials, including cement, into Gaza so that housing, schools and basic infrastructure could be built. They countered that Hamas would misuse it, and they were right. Developing Gaza was not Hamas’ goal. So long as Israel exists, Hamas will seek to fight it.
Reuel Marc Gerecht and Mark Dubowitz: Iran Ignores a Lucrative Deal over Its Nuclear Activities—Why hasn’t Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, agreed to the offer the West put on the table in Vienna last month in negotiations over the country’s nuclear activities? If the Iranians moved toward the West, tens of billions of dollars would likely start flowing into Iranian banks. Concessions by Iran could easily lead rapidly to the lifting of the EU oil embargo. Nor is the West even trying arduously to deny Tehran the capacity to build nuclear weapons. Negotiators have recognized the regime’s “right” to uranium enrichment; they appear ready to accept several thousand operational centrifuges and Iran’s “right” to advanced centrifuge research and development at the buried-in-the-mountain Fordow site. And Iran won’t have to agree to give IAEA inspectors unchallenged access to any suspicious location. All in all, the U.S. has offered a very good deal, yet Khamenei hasn’t bitten. It’s quite possible that he just expects to win more concessions from a U.S. president allergic to conflict in the Middle East. The more the West extends diplomacy, the more concessions it makes, and the smoother Iran’s transition to a nuclear-armed state.
Ben Cohen: Jewish Anti-Zionism? Not in Our Name— I recently journeyed to Columbus Circle in Manhattan to savor the atmosphere at two rival demonstrations over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. On one side, by the entrance to Central Park, and adjacent to the hot dog stands and “I Love NYC” souvenir outlets, I found about 60 or so pro-Israel demonstrators. The sky was gray and leaden, the humidity threatened a thunderstorm, and the news coming out of Israel was pretty bleak, but their mood veered in the joyous direction. They danced and sang, they recited prayers for the IDF’s fallen soldiers, and they held signs that were—dare I say it—almost kumbaya-like in their tone. There was no anger and no hate, but rather a series of appeals to behave rationally and with humanity. “For Real Peace, Gaza Needs Good Education, Not Bombs,” read one message. “Israel Left Gaza For Peace,” declared another, almost imploringly.
James Kitfield: U.S. Intelligence Chief Warns: The Threat of Islamic Terrorism Is Spreading—The outgoing chief of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, said in an interview: “In 2004, there were 21 Islamic terrorist groups spread out in 18 countries. Today, there are 41 Islamic terrorist groups spread out in 24 countries. A lot of these groups have the intention to attack Western interests, to include Western embassies and in some cases Western countries. Some have both the intention and some capability to attack the United States homeland.” “Unfortunately the [al-Qaeda] core ideology and belief system [of perpetual jihad] is spreading, not shrinking. Look at the unbelievably violent videos [of beheadings, executions and the destruction of religious places] coming out of Iraq just in recent days.” “When Bin Laden was killed there was a general sense that maybe this threat would go away. We all had those hopes, including me. But…we kept decapitating the leadership of these groups, and more leaders would just appear from the ranks to take their place. That’s when I realized that decapitation alone was a failed strategy.”
SnyderTalk Comment: This isn’t news to anyone who has been keeping up with developments around the world. Islamic terrorism has been spreading under Obama’s nose since the day he took office. Some have argued that he’s responsible for it, but whether he is or not, he is guilty of knowing about it, trying to convince the American people that it’s not a problem, and creating a global environment where it can happen with U.S. taxpayer support. I think those offenses are treasonous.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Knesset Committee: Everyone who wants to must be able to pray on Temple Mount
IDF mobilizing forces along Gaza border as clock ticks on temporary cease-fire
Liberman: If cease-fire ends, Israel should defeat Hamas as quickly as possible
Israel-Hamas truce on the line as temporary cease-fire nears expiration
Netanyahu: UN committee should look to ISIS, Hamas for war crimes
In Jerusalem, Rising Arab Violence Against Jews
Six dead as Hamas sappers fail to defuse unexploded IDF missile in Gaza
Khamenei: Iran’s interaction with US limited to nuclear talks
21 Tel Aviv stores expected to close on Shabbat as Sa’ar decision awaits
State Comptroller to probe if Israel violated international law during Gaza operation
#####
________________________________________
#####
Watch: Muslims Force Closure of Temple Mount for Jews
Netanyahu: UN Grants Legitimacy to Terrorists
Ceasefire, Hamas Style: Rocket Barrage Hits Southern Israel
As Lull Ticks Away, Hamas Says ‘All Options are Open’
Schabas Urged ‘Twisting Things’ to Get Israel in the Dock
Hamas Detonates IDF Dud, Kills Italian AP Reporter
State Comptroller Launches Investigation of Op.
Hareidi MK Warns ‘Apartheid’ Israel of Intifada
Lapid Slams ‘Ridiculous’ UN ‘War Crimes’ Committee
Arabs Beat Jewish Driver, Demolish Car
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Amid fears of renewed fighting, PM updates ministers on ceasefire progress
UK to halt some arms sales to Israel if fighting resumes
Egypt presents new ceasefire proposal to Israel, Palestinians
Palestinian Official: No Hamas Decision to End the War
Talk of a Deal May Be Unduly Optimistic
UN Gaza probe head says he’s not anti-Israel, will be impartial
Liberman calls for spurning of UN human rights probe
Israel wants to eradicate Palestinians, Saudi minister says
Israel’s annihilation has begun, says PLO envoy to Tehran
French hamlet is ‘Death to Jews’
#####
________________________________________
#####
500 Women and Children Buried Alive by ISIS
SnyderTalk Comment: They were too brutal for Osama bin Laden’s taste. That should tell you something.
Fatah Boasts of Killing Israelis
Iraq crisis puts Obama’s foreign policy in crosshairs
As war with Israel shatters lives, more Gazans question Hamas decisions
Israelis’ Quandary: How to Aid Gazans But Not Hamas
Hamas Spokesman Calls for Terror Attacks in Israel and the West Bank
Gaza Cleric: “We Are Willing to Sacrifice Two Million Martyrs”
SnyderTalk Comment: How perverted can a human being become? This “cleric” gives you some idea. I hate using the word “cleric” in connection with him because it suggests a modicum of decency, and he has none. I have often wondered why those who talk so much about martyrdom are unwilling to put their own lives at risk. In fact, they hide to avoid justice, but they can’t hide from Yahweh and justice is a certainty.
Head of New UN Gaza Inquiry Commission Called to Try Netanyahu at International Criminal Court
SnyderTalk Comment: I have a better idea: try U.N. officials at the ICC for complicity in Hamas war crimes and crimes against humanity. If they are convicted, hang them.
Gaza Construction Funding “Incorrectly” Handled, UN Report Finds
SnyderTalk Comment: The stupidity and audacity of U.N. officials never ceases to amaze me. Do you really think the discovery of a vast terror tunnel network by the IDF was the first time U.N. officials knew about it? Did they fail to notice the construction equipment and the work projects that cost hundreds of millions of dollars? Did U.N. officials discover that Hamas was storing weapons and ammo in U.N. schools and firing at Israel from inside them after the IDF released videos and pictures of them? In any decent court of justice, the U.N. would be convicted of complicity in Hamas’ war crimes and crimes against humanity. The time has come for the U.S. to rethink its U.N. support and involvement.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
Email Distribution List:
I have created an email distribution list that I use to notify people when I post a new SnyderTalk. If you would like to be on that list, send your email address to nhsny@yahoo.com, and put “add me to your distribution list” in the subject line. If you know others who are interested in SnyderTalk content, tell them to send me their email address, and I’ll put them on the list.
________________________________________
Genesis 24: 62-67
62 Now Isaac had come from going to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the Negev. 63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
SnyderTalk Comment: Read His Name is Yahweh.
________________________________________
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)
________________________________________
#####
Click here to download the entire audio presentation for free and with no strings attached. Share it as often as you want.
#####
________________________________________
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.
________________________________________
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.
