Prophecy and End Time Series. - Israel

[Shammu]

Impatient Mossad warns of 'monster in the making'

'This is what we know and this is what we'll do if you continue to do nothing'
Posted: April 30, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

If the visit to Washington last week by the head of Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, was not enough to communicate Israel's growing impatience with the international community's failure to deal with Tehran's unchecked development of nuclear technology and bellicose threats to wipe the Jewish state "off the map," Ehud Olmert, prime minister designate, made it clear yesterday by denouncing Iran's president as a "psychopath" and comparing him to Hitler.


Meir Dagan

Mossad chief Meir Dagan, in Washington last week in preparation for a visit to the U.S. by Olmert on May 23, held secret meetings with U.S. officials to discuss Iran's nuclear program, reports the London Times. While details of the meetings were not revealed, it is believed Dagan met with his counterparts at the CIA, the Pentagon and the National Security Council.

"Dagan is not given to small talk and niceties," said an Israeli intelligence source, who believes Dagan's message to Washington policy makers was simple and blunt: "This is what we know and this is what we'll do if you continue to do nothing."

The revelation of the briefing comes in the wake of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) admission of alarming "gaps" in its knowledge of Iran's centrifuge program to enrich uranium and the level of involvement of Iran's military. Many intelligence experts believe Iran is operating a parallel nuclear program where military applications are secretly under development. Mossad reportedly claims to have evidence of enrichment sites in Iran hidden to IAEA inspectors "which can short-cut their timetable in the race for their first bomb."

"When I read the recent reports regarding Iran, I saw a monster in the making," said Dr. Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Israeli parliament's foreign and defense committee.

Steinitz, who oversees Mossad's activities in Iran, fears Iran's first nuclear bomb is just one year away. "There is only one option that is worse than military action against Iran and that is to sit and do nothing," he said.

Publically, at least, the Bush administration is still talking diplomacy and economic sanctions to achieve a "peaceful solution" following last week's IAEA report documenting Iran's non-compliance.

The U.S., Britain, France and Germany will face off this week against a resistant China and Russia over a resolution from the U.N. Security Council mandating Iran suspend its uranium enrichment. Given President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's scornful dismissal of resolutions from the U.N., something stronger, like sanctions could follow.

Russia and China, however, may scuttle any U.N. efforts to stop Iran. China just announced a $100 billion energy deal with Iran, with Beijing's ambassador declaring, "No country can prevent the deal." If the U.N. fails to act, the U.S. will seek Iran's economic isolation at the July G8 summit in St. Petersburg.

But given the fast pace at which many intelligence experts believe Iran's nuclear program is advancing, July is a long time off, especially for the Israelis who, as WorldNetDaily has reported, are already being targeted by Iran's missiles and rockets stationed in Lebanon under the control of Hezbollah surrogates.

"If we do not see any progress on the political or economic track that convinces the Iranians to back down, one of the parties will use the military option," a senior Israeli source said in Washington last week. Dragging out the negotiations indefinitely is not an option.

"Ahmadinejad speaks today like Hitler before taking power," Olmert said. "So you see, we are dealing with a psychopath of the worst kind — with an anti-Semite. God forbid that this man ever gets his hands on nuclear weapons, to carry out his threats."

Impatient Mossad warns of 'monster in the making'

[Shammu]

Gaza-destined combat shipment confiscated
(05.02.06, 12:46)

Hundreds of combat support items destined for Gaza Strip confiscated at Ashdod Port; officials say shipping container came from China
Shmulik Hadad

Hundreds of combat support items were found Tuesday morning in a shipping container sent from China to the Gaza Strip. Customs officers at the Ashdod Port made the discovery while scanning the container.

The container's importers said their shipment includes sewing notions, hats and clocks. Customs officers however confiscated 300 telescopes, some of which have sights and infrared markers for long-range targets.

Security officials said the items are of good quality and had they reached the Gaza Strip they would have certainly improved terror groups' ability to hit IDF targets.

"We are speaking of a quantity that could upgrade the fighting capability of a whole brigade in the Palestinian Authority security forces. A telescope of this kind, fitted on an M-16 rifle, for example, improves the death ability of the weapon," customs officials said.

Gaza-destined combat shipment confiscated

[Soldier4Christ]

1st time in 2,000 years Israel has most Jews
If trends continue, majority of Jewry will live in Jewish state within 25-30 years


Israeli Jewish population now biggest



TEL AVIV, Israel, May 1, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- For the first time in almost 2,000 years, Israel has the largest Jewish population of any country in the world.

The Central Bureau of Statistics announced Monday that about 76 percent of the population of 7.3 million is Jewish, about 5.3 million people. The last survey of the U.S. Jewish population put it at about 5.3 million in 2001, but Israeli statisticians think that the numbers may have declined slightly.

Professor Sergio Della-Pergola of the A. Harmann Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University said that about 138,000 babies have been born to Israeli Jews since last Independence Day, adding a net of about 70,000 to the population. He said that Israel is the only country in the world with a "natural increase" in the Jewish population.

"If current trends continue, there could be an absolute majority of world Jewry living in Israel within 25-30 years," said Professor Sergio Della-Pergola of the A. Harmann Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University.

[Shammu]

'Isolated settlements endanger Israel'
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST    May. 4, 2006

Incoming Prime Minister Ehud Olmert laid out his vision for Israel's future borders in a major policy speech to the Knesset on Thursday, saying that settlements in Judea and Samaria put Israel in danger. He said however, that Israel would maintain control over large settlement blocs forever.

"I also dreamt in the past that the day would not come when we would have to give up parts of the Land of Israel," he said.

Olmert said he preferred to reach a deal with the Palestinians through negotiations based on the internationally-backed "road map" peace plan.

But if that failed he would act unilaterally to create "desirable" borders for Israel, which would be significantly different from the current borders.

Finances were a running trend as opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu leveled sharp criticism at the new government, calling it "bloated" and "wasteful."

When the international trend is for governments to get smaller, "tiny Israel's is getting bigger," said Netanyahu. "To paraphrase Churchill, 'Never has so much been owed by so few to so many,'" he added, referring to the Cabinet's record size of 24 ministers, with six more expected when and if United Torah Judaism joins the governing coalition.

Olmert called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to lead the Palestinians back to the negotiating table with Israel, but said Israel would not negotiate under any terms with the Hamas-led PA in its present form.

He said last summer's pullout from the Gaza Strip and the dismantling of four small northern West Bank settlements was a first step, but Israel needed to separate itself from the more than two million Palestinians in the West Bank if it wanted to maintain its character as both a Jewish and democratic state.

"The continuation of the scattered settlements throughout the West Bank creates an inseparable mix of populations that will threaten the existence of the state of Israel as a Jewish state," said Olmert.

"There has never been a government among all the governments of Israel that has given up on so much from the start," countered Netanyahu, referring to Olmert's convergence plan. He said that he did not see the need for or purpose of such a plan, noting that the disengagement had done nothing to "weaken Hamas or push away the Kassams," and had in fact accomplished the opposite.

He went on to remind his audibly grumbling audience that the convergence plan would cost money - "not millions, not tens of millions, but billions of shekels."

Netanyahu also wished incoming defense minister Amir Peretz good luck at his new post, saying that there was much to be done to make the military industries more profitable for the state. With a nod toward incoming finance minister Avraham Hirchson, Netanyahu also said that there was a huge need for sweeping financial reforms. But, he lamented, he doubted that the coalition would stand behind the changes needed in the two ministries.

'Isolated settlements endanger Israel'

[Shammu]

Israeli parliament approves Olmert coalition govt

1 hour, 1 minute ago

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Parliament approved Israel's new coalition government on Thursday, clearing the way for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his 25-member cabinet to be sworn in.

The vote was carried by 65 to 49, the parliament speaker said.

Earlier in a policy speech to parliament, Olmert pledged he would implement a plan to remove isolated Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank but keep major enclaves forever.

"The borders of Israel that will be formed in the coming years will be significantly different from the territories under Israel's control today," said Olmert, who has vowed to set final frontiers by 2010 with or without Palestinian agreement.

Palestinians, whose government is led by the militant Hamas group, say Olmert's plan will annex land and deny them a viable state. They want Arab East Jerusalem, captured by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, as their capital.

Olmert's centrist Kadima party emerged at the head of the pack in Israel's March 28 elections but with one of the lowest winning tallies for a governing party.

The coalition includes the centre-left Labor Party, the pensioners' party and ultra-Orthodox Shas, controlling 67 of parliament's 120 seats.

Israeli parliament approves Olmert coalition govt

[Shammu]

Jewish Majority More Important Than Biblical Land, Olmert Says
By Julie Stahl
CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
May 04, 2006

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - A Jewish majority in the State of Israel is more important than safeguarding the biblical land of Israel, incoming Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday.

The statement underscored Olmert's push to set Israel's borders, which he has pledged to do by the end of his term in 2010.

Olmert and his newly formed government are due to be sworn into office Thursday evening. With at least 25 ministerial cabinet posts, it is one of the largest governments Israel has ever had - a sign that he may have trouble carrying out his set policies, including the convergence plan.

In a speech at the Knesset on Thursday, Olmert welcomed the idea of talks with the Palestinian Authority but also ruled out the possibility of talking with Hamas.

"Negotiations with the P.A. is the desired basis to lead us to a peace agreement but the P.A. must first carry out thorough changes in its behavior and reactions," Olmert said. A government headed by a "terror organization will not be a partner for negotiations," he added.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas suggested in an interview with the Hebrew daily Ma'ariv (published before Olmert's speech on Thursday) that the two leaders meet soon for talks.

"You have a serious participant, we are a partner for negotiations," Abbas was quoted as saying. "I was elected by the Palestinian people in a democratic way in order to bring peace. I have a mandate to reach an agreement with Ehud Olmert."

The Hebrew daily Ha'aretz on Thursday quoted unnamed Israeli sources saying that the convergence plan would begin within two years.

Olmert said he had been among those who had dreamed that all of the biblical land of Israel would be part of the nation.

Nevertheless, he said, "Even if the Jewish eye fills with tears, and the heart is torn, we must safeguard the principle...[of keeping] a solid and stable Jewish majority in our state."

Some experts have said that the demographic argument is false since new studies have shown that the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and West Bank is actually much smaller than was previously believed and the Jewish population is growing.

Former Israeli Prime Minister and current opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party opposes unilateral moves, questioned what kind of outcome such moves would have.

"Will it strengthen Abu Mazen [Abbas]? Will it weaken Hamas? Will it push back the Kassams?" he asked in a reference to the rocket attacks from Gaza that have now come closer to Israeli communities and would be much closer to Israeli population centers if chunks of the West Bank are abandoned. "And to whom do you intend to transfer the heart of the land?"

Washington has thus far stated its preference for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. But Olmert's plan cannot get off the ground without President Bush's support.

Olmert likely will be invited to Washington in the coming weeks, and the convergence plan will be high on the talks agenda.

Prof. Menachem Hofnung of the Hebrew University said U.S. support for the convergence plan is crucial.

"Obviously Olmert would like to go ahead with the convergence plan or if the Palestinians are really willing, to enter serious negotiations," said Hofnung.

A senior government source said that Israel would need support to carry out the convergence plan. If the U.S. supports the plan, the source said he assumes Washington would help to fund it.

The plan involves completing a security barrier and removing an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 Israelis from their homes in communities throughout the West Bank that fall on the Palestinian side of the barrier.

It is not clear how much that would cost. But Netanyahu, in his address to the Knesset, estimated it would cost billions of dollars.

Jewish Majority More Important Than Biblical Land, Olmert Says

[Shammu]

Bush pledges 'unwavering support' for Israel

U.S. president tells American Jewish Committee on its 100th anniversary: 'America's commitment to Israel's security is strong, enduring and unshakeable'
Yitzhak Benhorin

American President George Bush promised Friday to take an aggressive stand against the Hamas government, to press for a "difficult decision" to be taken in the U.N's Security Council on the Iranian nuclear issue, and to safeguard Israel's security without wavering.

Bush said and his government would have no contact with Hamas leaders of the Palestinian government until the group recognizes Israel.

"America's commitment to Israel's security is strong, enduring and unshakeable," Bush said in a speech in Washington, speaking to the American Jewish Committee, which is marking its 100th anniversary.

The U.S. president said that Israel and the United States were "natural allies and these ties will never be broken."

'No contact with Hamas'

"Hamas has made it clear that they do not acknowledge the righto f Israel to exist, and I made it clear that so long as that's their policy we will have no contact with the leaders of Hamas," Bush said.

He added: "Hamas must accept the demands of the international community to recognise Israel, disarm and reject terrorism, and stop blocking the path to peace."

Addressing the Iranian problem, Bush said: "We are concerned because the Iranian regime is repressing its people, sponsoring terrorists, destabilizing the region, threatening Israel and defying the world with its ambitions for nuclear weapons. American will continue to rally the world to confront these threats."

America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats, we're making progress," Bush said.

"We will continue to press the Iranian government to comply" with U.N. Security Council resolutions, he added.

Bush pledges 'unwavering support' for Israel

[Shammu]

Hamas brands convergence a declaration of war
Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST    May. 5, 2006

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he was ready to start immediate talks with Israel's new government to discuss ways of implementing the road map.

Hamas, meanwhile, described Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's convergence plan to withdraw from some settlements in the West Bank as a "declaration of war on the Palestinians."

Abbas was ready to meet with Olmert to revive the peace process, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said after Abbas's meeting with several foreign diplomats at his office in Ramallah.

Abbas complained during the meeting about the severe financial crisis in the PA and urged the US and EU to reconsider their decision after Hamas's victory in January's parliamentary election to suspend direct aid to the PA.

Former PA negotiator Saeb Erekat called on Olmert to resume negotiations immediately and to refrain from unilateral actions such as annexing settlements or building the security barrier.

"Negotiations are the responsibility of the chairman of the PLO [Mahmoud Abbas]," Erekat said in response to Olmert's speech before the Knesset outlining his new government's policies. "If Mr. Olmert really wants to resume negotiations, he will find a partner that is ready for this. This partner is President Abbas and he's capable of doing this."

Erekat said that settlement construction and unilateral measures would only widen the cycle of violence. "We urge Prime Minister Olmert to abandon these policies and to return to the negotiating table to end the occupation of the 1967 territories," he said. "Peace and settlements cannot go together."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Olmert's speech confirmed Israel's "hostile" policy toward the Palestinians. "There's nothing new and positive in this speech," he said. "Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords and recognized Israel, but was still not considered a partner. The problem is with the occupation, and not our people."

Abu Zuhri condemned Olmert's plan to keep large settlement blocs under Israeli sovereignty as a "declaration of war" on the Palestinians. "This is a real declaration of war on our people and we will confront it will all available means," he said.

Abbas was scheduled to meet with PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City on Thursday, but sources close to the two said the meeting had been postponed until Friday. The meeting comes amid increased tensions between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah party.

Meanwhile, Hamas leaders accused Fatah of waging a "propaganda war" against the Hamas-controlled PA government and its members and hinted that Abbas and his aides were involved in an international conspiracy aimed at bringing it down.

Cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad called on Abbas and other Fatah leaders to refrain from meeting with the US consul-general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles, or other American officials.

Abbas met with Walles earlier this week in Ramallah to discuss the financial crisis in the PA.

"The US consul-general is working against our government," Hamad said. "It's a disgrace to hold such meetings with the executioner and biggest criminal, the US. The US is doing its utmost to prevent countries and institutions from providing financial aid to the elected government. The US, which is responsible for killing Iraqi children, is now perpetrating a war crime against our people by starving and besieging them."

The PA's civil servants have threatened to go on strike on Saturday to protest the government's failure to pay their March salaries.

That threat drew sharp criticism from Hamad, who accused the employees of "immoral and unpatriotic" behavior.

"Unfortunately, they know that the government is not responsible for the financial crisis," he said. "The government has managed to secure funds from donations, but the problem is with the US sanctions and siege."

In Cairo PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud al Zahar was sheduled to meet Thursday night with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abdoul Gheit.

The meeting is in the context of efforts by Hamas to end international sanctions against its cabinet. Last month the Egyptian foreign minister said he was too busy to meet with al Zahar when he visited Cairo.

Hamas brands convergence a declaration of war

[Shammu]

J'lem mayor: Gay parade a provocation

City Council holds stormy session after council member asks to prepare capital for parade; Meretz member accuses Mayor Uri Lupolianski of incitement that led to violent incidents during last year's parade
Neta Sela

An exceptionally stormy meeting of the Jerusalem City Council was held Thursday following a proposal to prepare for the Gay Pride Parade which will be held in the city in August.

Saar Ran-Netanel, a council member of the Meretz leftist faction, asked how the municipality was preparing for the event, fueling the ire of ultra-Orthodox council members.

A week ago, the Union for Homosexuals and Lesbians in Israel canceled planned gay pride parades in Tel Aviv and Haifa and announced that the event will take place in Jerusalem.

The meeting was attended by members of the Open House organization for homosexuals and lesbians. The meeting was attended by David Russo, who was stabbed by an ultra-Orthodox man, Yishai Schlissel, during last year's parade in the capital.

Schlissel was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Ran-Netanel asked Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski: "At least have the basic compassion to look him in the eyes."

Russo stood up but Lupolianski ignored him. "You are afraid of me," Russo told him.

Referring the proposal to prepare for the event, Lupolianski said: "This is a city whose essence and problems we all know. We know that provocation has a high cost here. Last year we suggested replacements and tried to speak. Unfortunately, there are provocateurs whose mission it is to set off riots."

Ran-Netanel accused Lupolianski of having incited against gays which led to the stabbing attack last year.

Lupolianski replied: "I warned against this, and there are always light-headed people. There were talks but there were some who didn't want to listen (referring to gay representatives)."

Proposal to hold Parade in east Jerusalem

Deputy Mayor Eli Simchayof suggested the parade be held in east Jerusalem.

"Even in Tel Aviv they canceled, because they know no one will attend," he said.

Shas representative Yair Lari said: "It seems there will be a majority to hold the parade in east Jerusalem and we will see what they will do to them."

Lupolianski jokingly told an ultra-Orthodox council member as he walked near Netanel, an open homosexual, to "be wary of him as you pass there." The remark drew laughter from most council members.

Lupolianski proposed the plan be dropped from the municipality's agenda, drawing the support of 17 members against 3 who voiced opposition.

Open House CEO Hagai Elad said: "It seems Lupolianski learnt nothing. Last year, on the eve of the parade, Lupolianski sowed wind and reaped a whirlwind. It is a shame that a bunch of small politicians are managing Jerusalem's affairs against the city's best interests, while fanning racism and discrimination."

J'lem mayor: Gay parade a provocation

[Shammu]

Never Again?

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, May 5, 2006; Page A19

When something happens for the first time in 1,871 years, it is worth noting. In A.D. 70, and again in 135, the Roman Empire brutally put down Jewish revolts in Judea, destroying Jerusalem, killing hundreds of thousands of Jews and sending hundreds of thousands more into slavery and exile. For nearly two millennia, the Jews wandered the world. And now, in 2006, for the first time since then, there are once again more Jews living in Israel -- the successor state to Judea -- than in any other place on Earth.

Israel's Jewish population has just passed 5.6 million. America's Jewish population was about 5.5 million in 1990, dropped to about 5.2 million 10 years later and is in a precipitous decline that, because of low fertility rates and high levels of assimilation, will cut that number in half by mid-century.

When 6 million European Jews were killed in the Holocaust, only two main centers of Jewish life remained: America and Israel. That binary star system remains today, but a tipping point has just been reached. With every year, as the Jewish population continues to rise in Israel and decline in America (and in the rest of the Diaspora), Israel increasingly becomes, as it was at the time of Jesus, the center of the Jewish world.

An epic restoration, and one of the most improbable. To take just one of the remarkable achievements of the return: Hebrew is the only "dead" language in recorded history to have been brought back to daily use as the living language of a nation. But there is a price and a danger to this transformation. It radically alters the prospects for Jewish survival.

For 2,000 years, Jews found protection in dispersion -- protection not for individual communities, which were routinely persecuted and massacred, but protection for the Jewish people as a whole. Decimated here, they could survive there. They could be persecuted in Spain and find refuge in Constantinople. They could be massacred in the Rhineland during the Crusades or in the Ukraine during the Khmelnytsky Insurrection of 1648-49 and yet survive in the rest of Europe.

Hitler put an end to that illusion. He demonstrated that modern anti-Semitism married to modern technology -- railroads, disciplined bureaucracies, gas chambers that kill with industrial efficiency -- could take a scattered people and "concentrate" them for annihilation.

The establishment of Israel was a Jewish declaration to a world that had allowed the Holocaust to happen -- after Hitler had made his intentions perfectly clear -- that the Jews would henceforth resort to self-protection and self-reliance. And so they have, building a Jewish army, the first in 2,000 years, that prevailed in three great wars of survival (1948-49, 1967 and 1973).

But in a cruel historical irony, doing so required concentration -- putting all the eggs back in one basket, a tiny territory hard by the Mediterranean, eight miles wide at its waist. A tempting target for those who would finish Hitler's work.

His successors now reside in Tehran. The world has paid ample attention to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declaration that Israel must be destroyed. Less attention has been paid to Iranian leaders' pronouncements on exactly how Israel would be "eliminated by one storm," as Ahmadinejad has promised.

Former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the presumed moderate of this gang, has explained that "the use of a nuclear bomb in Israel will leave nothing on the ground, whereas it will only damage the world of Islam." The logic is impeccable, the intention clear: A nuclear attack would effectively destroy tiny Israel, while any retaliation launched by a dying Israel would have no major effect on an Islamic civilization of a billion people stretching from Mauritania to Indonesia.

As it races to acquire nuclear weapons, Iran makes clear that if there is any trouble, the Jews will be the first to suffer. "We have announced that wherever [in Iran] America does make any mischief, the first place we target will be Israel," said Gen. Mohammad Ebrahim Dehghani, a top Revolutionary Guards commander. Hitler was only slightly more direct when he announced seven months before invading Poland that, if there was another war, "the result will be . . . the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe."

Last week Bernard Lewis, America's dean of Islamic studies, who just turned 90 and remembers the 20th century well, confessed that for the first time he feels it is 1938 again. He did not need to add that in 1938, in the face of the gathering storm -- a fanatical, aggressive, openly declared enemy of the West, and most determinedly of the Jews -- the world did nothing.

When Iran's mullahs acquire their coveted nukes in the next few years, the number of Jews in Israel will just be reaching 6 million. Never again?

Never Again?

[Shammu]

Peres Warns Iran for Threatening Israel

By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Tue May 9, 2:10 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres warned Iran that it could be threatened with destruction if it continues to vow to destroy Israel.

"Be careful with your threats," Peres told Channel 1 TV on Monday. "Those who threaten to destroy are in danger of being destroyed."

Israel has grown increasingly concerned in recent months by calls from Iran's leader to wipe Israel off the map and Iran's determination to continue its nuclear program. The West believes Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon and has moved to impose sanctions against the country in the U.N. Security Council. Iran says its enrichment of uranium is meant for peaceful purposes.

Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, drew unusually stiff criticism from an analyst on Israel's state television, Yoav Limor, for talking of destroying another country.

"There is a broad consensus that it would have been better if Peres had not said this, especially now," Limor said. "I'm quite sure Israel does not want to find itself in the same insane asylum as (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad."

Last week, a top Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said Israel would be Iran's first retaliatory target if attacked by the United States. Peres also reacted to that comment with a warning of his own: "Remember that Israel is exceptionally strong and knows how to defend itself."

Peres did not say Monday who should act against Iran if it continues with its nuclear program, but implied military action should be led by the United States, pointing to the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Israeli officials have indicated that Israel would join any international operation against Iran.

In 1981, Israel launched an air strike to destroy an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor. Experts have said such a pinpointed strike against Iran would not be possible, because Tehran's nuclear facilities are intentionally dispersed throughout the country, some of them hidden underground.

Peres urged China and Russia to join Western efforts to impose sanctions on Iran so military action could be avoided. The two countries thus far have been reluctant to back such proposals.

"We can prevent all of this threat, without weapons, if there will be unity," Peres said.

Peres Warns Iran for Threatening Israel

[Shammu]

MI chief: Iran will produce nuclear bomb by 2010
By Amos Harel, Gideon Alon, Shlomo Shamir and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service

Iran will have acquired nuclear bombs by 2010, the head of Israel's Military Intelligence, Major General Amos Yadlin, told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday.

Yadlin said that in January 2006, the Iranians had succeeded in enriching uranium at the Natanz facility, some 200 km south of Tehran. He said that during the short period since, Iran had managed to enrich uranium to 3.5 percent, indicating that they had been working on secret projects.

"In order to manufacture nuclear weapons, they have to be able to produce 25 kilograms of enriched uranium and they are still at the stage of [producing] grams," he said.

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Peres rapped for Iran comments
Meanwhile, senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad rapped Vice Premier Shimon Peres on Tuesday for an interview Peres gave the day in which he said that "Iran, too, can be destroyed.

Gilad said that Israel should not use language of threats in dealing with Tehran, nor should it place itself on the frontline of the Iran nuclear issue.

"Israel does not need to spearhead treatment on the Iran matter because this is a world problem. We suggest not adopting a language of threats. It is tremendously important for the world to isolate Hamas and it is tremendously important to isolate Iran," said Gilad.

"International cooperation and legitimacy is important for Israel. Even if we later demand other options it is important for us to pass the necessary course of legitimacy and international support," he added.

Participants in a Tuesday defense establishment meeting said it is necessary to prepare for military options against Iran, but urged taking diplomatic steps for the time being.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said Tuesday that the debate on whether Israel should threaten Iran was diminishing the effect of Peres' statement.

Peres, speaking ahead of UN Security Council deliberations on possible sanctions on Iran, cautioned Monday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, should bear in mind that his own country could also be destroyed.

"They want to wipe out Israel... Now when it comes to destruction, Iran too can be destroyed [but] I don't suggest to say an eye for an eye," Peres told Reuters.

"Israel would defend itself under any condition but we don't look upon it as an Iranian-Israeli conflict exclusively... [Iran] is basically a danger to the world, not just to us," he said.

The Security Council is due to vote Wednesday or Thursday on the American-European resolution proposal on the Iranian nuclear issue. Diplomats in the UN headquarters said Monday that despite Russia and China's firm position against the mandatory wording of the proposal, the two would not use their veto to thwart its adoption.

It is assumed that the required majority of nine members to adopt the resolution is assured. If Russia and China abstain, Qatar, the non permanent member in the council, is expected to join them.

Peres said Iran was mocking the international community's attempts to resolve the crisis over its nuclear ambitions and that the credibility of the United Nations Security Council was on the line.

Russia and China are against provisions in the draft proposal by the U.S., Britain and France that invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. This could imply Iran's nuclear program is a threat to global security and pave the way for sanctions - or even military action - against Iran.

Ahmedinejad on Monday wrote to U.S. President George W. Bush, offering "new solutions" to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. The letter is the first public approach by an Iranian president to an American one since the Islamic revolution in the country in 1979.

Iranian government spokesman Gulamhussein Elham said Ahmedinejad's letter deals with the nuclear issue, but did not say whether it referred to the possibility of direct talks with the U.S.

More than any of his recent predecessors, Ahmedinejad has raised hackles in the United States, by asserting that Israel should be "wiped off the map." Bush told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper such comments should be seen as a serious threat to Israel and other countries.

MI chief: Iran will produce nuclear bomb by 2010

[RedRain]

I am new here and was just reading a lot of the replies to this topic.  Man there are lots, and many of you have done your research, wow!!
One of two questions I have is why is that many believe that Israel is only Jews??  Jews are only from the Tribe of Judah and make up 1/12 of Israel.  Israel should consist of all 12 tribes, correct??

The other question is in regards to the prophecies of Israel and the reuniting of the House of Judah and the House of Israel, like found in Ezekiel 37:15-23.  I have just started studying this topic, and found that the Bible is full of verses pertaing to this restoration of the seperated houses in the last days.  Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on this??

[Soldier4Christ]

The popular definition of what we call a “Jew” today largely emerged from the Babylonian captivity. Originally, they were called Israelites. Now it is interesting that the term “Jew” was first applied to all the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, mainly by Gentiles and not by Jews themselves. This is even evident in the gospels. In Mark 15:32, Jesus is called “King of Israel” by the Jews, but in the same chapter in verse 2 He is called “King of the Jews” by the Romans. For the Jews, it was “Israelites.” The word Jew became synominous with Israelite.

I am not quite sure what you are asking in regards to the restoration of the House of Israel. As you said there are many verses that tell us that this will happen.

[Shammu]

The other question is in regards to the prophecies of Israel and the reuniting of the House of Judah and the House of Israel, like found in Ezekiel 37:15-23.  I have just started studying this topic, and found that the Bible is full of verses pertaing to this restoration of the seperated houses in the last days.  Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on this??

Part of this mystery is that, the gentiles here are not a part of the divorced house of Israel. You see the prophecies of Judah & Israel are being fulfilled NOT is some non-Israelite nation but from the divorced scattered house of Israel. You must realize the covenant never applied to anyone but Israel. To re-gather they would have to have been part of Israel to begin with. Just as redeemed means bought back, only Israel could be bought back. The rest of the world was purchased by Jesus Christ's ultimate act of love and atonement.

Israel's divorce is an important one to address. It is one of the keys to identifying the Lost Tribes, and keeping them separate from the Jews (House of Judah). In the form of Jesus, God died. This freed the House of Israel from the bond of the law, and allowed the establishment of a connection between the formerly divorced house and God.

Isaiah, starting especially in chapter 40+ is an explanation of the coming messiah and his relationship to the House of Israel. This account is a more detailed account of the same events described by Hosea. When reading these chapters of Isaiah, keeping reminding yourself that the House of Israel is England, the US and northwest Europe. The activities and prophecies will make perfect sense to one who knows a bit of the history of those people.

Jesus said "house of Israel" because he referred to his task of reuniting the divorced House of Israel and God. Certainly the Jews didn't need reuniting with God. They were still known as the people of the God of the Bible. And even a beginning student of scripture knows that the Jews were of the Tribe of Judah, specifically, and as an adjunct, the tribes of Levi and Benjamin.

God's purpose for the Israelites, all twelve tribes, is to get the word of His kingdom out to the rest of the world. The Jews fumbled the ball and became a "closed" society. They were never initiatory in disclosing God to those around them. They didn't sent out missionaries as did the United States,, England, and other European nations.

Those nations have been recognized by the rest of the world as people who profess the God of the bible. They have become what Hosea said they would, "known as the sons of the living God."

But this is only my opinion, RedRain. There are others that may have a different opinion.

Resting in the hands, of the Lord.
Bob