“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122: 6
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Michael Curtis—Beware of Homegrown Terrorists:
In his recent book about the origins of the World War I, The Sleepwalkers, How Europe went to War in 1914, Christopher Clark describes the major protagonists in 1914 as sleepwalkers, watchful but unseeing, stumbling into the catastrophe of the Great War after an act of terrorism by a Serbian nationalist. Taking a crucial lesson from this analysis, contemporary policymakers must be both watchful and insightful in relation to groups and individuals engaged in Islamist terrorism. A premeditated strategy is essential to respond effectively to that terrorism wherever it occurs.
A complex issue is at stake, how to assess the divergent views of the 1.6 billion believers in the religion of Islam. Most Muslims profess to view their religion as personal and peaceful, but a vociferous minority of Islamist extremists embodies religious views that stem from the fundamentalist brand of Islam, Salafism or Wahhabism, that regards Shiites as heretics and fuses religion and politics. Everyone is now aware of the emergence and the actions of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) that exemplifies the latter. That group, militarily successful and aggressive, challenges the people of the world, Muslims as well as non-Muslims, with its extreme version of jihad and its creation of a Caliphate.
Extreme Islamist rhetoric, with its military and missionary aspects, must be taken seriously. Militarily, the stated objectives are not only to capture the Middle East but also to reconquer Andalusia (Spain). The failure of the Ottoman Empire to take Vienna in 1683 put an end to the objective of Islamizing the whole of Europe, and extreme Islamists want this defeat rectified. Missionary Islam proselytizes peacefully through social media websites, sermons in mosques, and conversions. In both cases, coupled with religious ideology are secular slogans of the victim status of Muslims, opposition to globalization, resentment towards supposed American and sometimes Jewish domination of the world, and a version of multiculturalism that holds that European culture is not superior to other cultures.
Arab terrorist actions stem from religious extremism. Though Arab entities, particularly Palestinians, cling to the status of victims and claim discrimination, the facts are otherwise, especially when compared with other countries. One relevant statistic is that international aid to the Palestinians per capita is vastly higher than to African countries. An estimate made by the World Bank is that the average Palestinian receives fifteen times more aid than the average citizen in Ethiopia with its 94 million people. The GDP per capita in Ethiopia is $500 while the GDP for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is $2,800.
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SnyderTalk Comment: The spiritual battle that’s playing out right in front of our eyes has been raging since the beginning of time as we know it. Most people have trouble with the here-and-now. History is a blur, and the future is something that they’ll worry about tomorrow.
To most people, a spiritual battle is something that preachers and rabbis talk about. They think it’s just fiction or at least they hope it is.
It’s been said that there are no atheists in foxholes. War opens people’s minds to the possibility of spiritual reality and physical death, but it doesn’t change an individual’s perspective until he realizes that death is a very real possibility for him personally.
We may be getting very close to the time when large numbers of people will stop sleepwalking and have a change of heart about the spiritual dimension.
A word to the wise: it won’t be an easy transition and in an emergency Smith & Wesson is more effective than ADT.
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Michael Carl: Rising Number of Muslims Reporting Dreams about Jesus—“I was in the desert alone, lost. As far as the horizon, there was nothing in sight but sand. I felt the sand on my bare feet. Then I saw something extraordinary. In the midst of that barrenness, an immense wooden cross emerged from the earth, rising up with sand spilling from it back to earth.” So begins a dream narrative posted by Bosnian Muslim teenager Emina Emlonic. A dream about Jesus. It continues: “I felt then a spectator in my own dream, and the sight of the cross gave me neither fear nor joy. But I was a curious and began moving, almost floating, towards it, the most magnificent … thing I’d ever seen or imagined, and as I came closer to the cross, I suddenly saw a man walking toward me: a broad-shouldered, long-striding man, with a dark complexion, long hair, and wearing a white robe. “And just as suddenly I ceased to be a witness to my dream. I was in it, walking toward the man walking toward me. I knew him immediately. He was Jesus. Without knowing why, I fell to my knees. He stood over me and touched my face with his right hand.”
Nadav Shragai: Struggle for the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—Wednesday’s assassination attempt on Yehuda Glick puts the Temple Mount at the center of the Arab-Jewish struggle over Jerusalem. Former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967 prohibited Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, while Glick waged a worldwide battle to get the government to allow Jewish prayer there. That was what made him a red flag for Muslims, who believe (as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas put it) that Jews defile the Islamic character of the Temple Mount.
Lazar Berman: Israel’s UN Ambassador: The People of Israel Are Not Occupiers in Jerusalem—Israel’s UN ambassador Ron Prosor defended construction in Jerusalem on Wednesday, telling an emergency Security Council session that “the people of Israel are not occupiers and we are not settlers. Israel is our home and Jerusalem is our eternal capital.” “There are many threats in the Middle East, but the presence of Jewish homes in the Jewish homeland has never been one of them,” Prosor emphasized. “Jerusalem had a Jewish character long before most cities in the world had any character.” He also blasted the Palestinian Authority for objecting to Jews visiting the Temple Mount. “You don’t have to be Catholic to visit the Vatican. You don’t have to be Jewish to visit the Western Wall. But the Palestinians would like to see the day when the Temple Mount is only open to Muslims.” “Let me tell you just how much the PA cares about holy sites: In Nablus, which has been under the control of the PA since 1995, the grave of the biblical patriarch Joseph was reduced to rubble. In Bethlehem, also under PA control, violent extremists have looted and desecrated the Church of the Nativity.”
Jerusalem Post Editorial: Standing Up to Intimidation—When violence is used to terrorize and bully a group into abdicating basic human rights, it becomes a threat to the foundations of democracy. On Wednesday, Mu’taz Hijazi, who is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, tried to assassinate Rabbi Yehuda Glick. This was a horrific act of violence directed at a man who was singled out for his religious and political beliefs. What makes this crime all the more tragic was the fact that Glick, who is a vocal activist for the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, is also a strong defender of Muslims’ right to freedom of religious expression on what they call Haram a-Sharif. We must disabuse ourselves of the idea that innocuous acts such as Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount are the trigger for Muslim rioting, stone-throwing, destruction and murder. Rather the Arabs who commit these offenses choose to lash out against Jews in order to intimidate them into ceding their rights. Permitting Jews – or members of any other religion – to visit the Temple Mount and even pray there should be a religious freedom that is carefully protected by a democracy. Caving in to the demands of militant Muslims out of a desire to avoid “escalation” is capitulating to extremism and betraying the ideals of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
Shoshana Bryen: Iran Leads at Halftime; Game Over?— In the run up to November’s P5+1 talks, Iran has already won the battles that count; remember, this is the bazaar. After last year’s unsatisfactory interim agreement, this author wrote: “A deal that is not a capitulation requires two conditions: the parties must equally value the process; and there has to be a compatible endgame. The West invested the process with much more value than did Iran, providing the mullahs with instant leverage, but most important, there was no agreed-upon end game. The P5+1 wanted to negotiate the terms of Iran’s nuclear surrender; Iran was negotiating the conditions under which it will operate its nuclear program.”
Soeren Kern: The “Explosive Growth” of Jihadism in the Netherlands— The home-grown jihadist movement in the Netherlands is experiencing sudden and explosive growth, according to a new report published by the Dutch intelligence service, AIVD. The Dutch jihadist movement is not only growing in size and strength, it is also becoming increasingly open and provocative, both online and on the streets, according to the report, which warns that the increasing momentum of Dutch jihadism poses an unprecedented threat to the democratic legal order of the Netherlands. The 58-page report, entitled “The Transformation of Jihadism in the Netherlands: Swarm Dynamics and New Strength,” provides an in-depth analysis of the various factors underlying the “new dynamism” of the jihadist phenomenon. According to the AIVD, the Dutch jihadist movement began a process of far-reaching change in late 2010, when several jihadists were prevented from leaving the Netherlands to join fellow jihadists in Pakistan and Somalia.
Aryeh Savir: ISIS Teen CRISIS: Jihadist Recruitment of American Kids— Sweden’s security service announced last week that up to 150 people have left the country to join the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) terrorist group in the Middle East, AP reports. The service further announced that 23 of them were killed fighting as members of such terror groups. Similar alarming reports are coming in from the U.S., Canada, Australia and many European countries. Germany has announced a ban on activities supporting IS, and Britain is prosecuting at least 50 British citizens who have returned from Syria. A CIA report indicates that about 2,000 Westerners are estimated to have joined fighting in Iraq and Syria, with at least 500 from the UK, and more than 700 from France.
Udi Dekel: The United States and the Coalition versus the Islamic State: Too Limited an Approach— It appears that President Obama’s focus on air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) is only an opening act, and by itself stands no chance of defeating the organization and arresting the tide of volunteers flocking to join its ranks. IS fighters blend into the urban environment, making it difficult for the coalition forces to identify them and seriously damage their capabilities. An aerial campaign without a ground offensive can, at most, impede the activity of IS forces. To win the campaign, it is necessary to persuade the regional players to send ground forces into the battle. Indeed, given the prevalent sense in the international community that the Western-Arab coalition is failing to stop the onslaught of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, sources in the US administration are calling for stepped-up military activity by the coalition. Among those favoring this approach are Secretary of State John Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey.
Brian Whitaker: Many Arab Governments Assert the Superiority of Islam—Compulsion in religion is the ideological foundation stone of ISIS and Islamist movements in general. Believing they have superior knowledge of God’s wishes for mankind, such groups feel required to punish those who fail to comply with the divine will. Bombing ISIS and banning Islamist movements may suppress such movements for a while, but it does nothing to address the ideological problem. Unless the question of compulsion in religion is tackled head-on, they will resurface later or similar groups will emerge to replace them. As far as many of the Arab public are concerned, discriminating against members of the “wrong” faith is not only acceptable, but the right thing to do. Most Arab states share ISIS’s approach to compulsion in religion. ISIS may be more brutal in practice but, basically, they are on the same ground – asserting the superiority of Islam and the legitimacy of religious discrimination.
Michael Curtis: President Putin’s Mirage of Russian Empire— In a speech at West Point on December 5, 1962, the former U.S. secretary of state Dean Acheson candidly remarked, “Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role. The attempt to play a separate power role … is about played out.” The actions of President Vladimir Putin today suggest he, like Britain fifty years ago, is searching even more desperately for a role to replace the empire that ended in 1991. That search had involved both aggressive military activity in Ukraine and the creation of a trade and political bloc that is supposed to stretch from China to the borders of the European Union (EU). Emulating the EU itself, the bloc claims to be a step toward the creation of a supranational union of sovereign states, but it may be the forerunner of an empire.
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Netanyahu: World is silent as Abbas feeds flames at Temple Mount
Former statesman offers perspective on Netanyahu tensions
Saudi man barred from travel after visiting synagogue in Egypt
Bethlehem Bible college, purveyor of anti-Israel propaganda
Hamas, Islamic Jihad Call for Palestinians to Step Up “Resistance” Against Israel
Poll: Israelis View Obama Administration as Pro-Palestinian
Analysis: US midterms and the Iran talks dynamic
Hamas arrests suspects in weekend rocket attack against Israel, sources say
‘Regretful’ Israeli Arab who fought with ISIS gets 22 months in jail
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Heavy Floods Close Streets in Central Israel
Approved: 400 Housing Units to Be Built in Jerusalem
Living on the Edge: Nearly 2/3 of Israelis are Often Overdrawn
Shiite Muslim Leader Shot by ISIS Supporters in Sydney
‘Yehuda Glick Likely Will Return to Full Function’
Arabs Arrested for Desecrating Jewish Cemetery
‘Building Freeze Must Also Apply to Palestinians’
Livni Condemns Abbas Praise for Would-Be Assassin
PA Asks Israel to Open Additional Border Crossing
Ex-PA PM Called for Attack on Glick’s Conference
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US caving to Iranians on nuke deal, Israeli official warns
Washington Post urges Obama to ‘reset’ ties with PM after ‘chickenshit’ affair
Livni: Netanyahu settlement policies harm Israeli security
Rightist MK visits Temple Mount as police brace for unrest
At rally, Glick’s wife says God waiting for Jews to pray at Temple Mount
Jordan’s king says he’ll resist ‘unilateral’ Israeli policies in Jerusalem
Egypt finds hundreds more tunnels from Gaza
Tunisia elections a possible model for the region
Iranian woman gets jail time for attending volleyball match
U.S. Jewish Leaders: Hold “Senior Administration Official” Accountable for Insulting Comments
SnyderTalk Comment: How? That person’s boss is Obama. He holds no one accountable. Obama has done far worse things to Israel and her elected leaders than the functionary who called Prime Minister Netanyahu a “chickenshit”. If you want to hold someone accountable, don’t vote for Democrats.
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Al-Aksa Is in Danger”: The Lie that Won’t Die
Is Lebanon on the Brink of a New Civil War?
Foreign Fighters for Islamic State Are Streaming into Syria
Hizbullah under Strain as It Battles on Several Fronts
World Trade Center reopens for business
Five Takeaways From Eastern Ukraine’s Separatist Vote
ISIS execute men, women and children in Iraqi village
Why is there such an explosion of violence across the Middle East?
The giant stone circles in the Middle East no one can explain
Selective Memory: Iran’s Role in the Marine Barracks Bombing
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Genesis 36: 15-19
15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
SnyderTalk Comment: Read His Name is Yahweh.
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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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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.
