Bible Prophecy Armies Carrying Black Banners from khurasan invade Israel

The world turns against Israel and supports terrorism

Media bias is turning world opinion severely against Israel in the conflict in the Middle East. The Bible has predicted this picture years ago.  The Israeli Ambassador Ron Demer, Prime Minister Netanyahu defend Israel’s actions in a perilous situation. British official defend Israel’s right to defend itself and identify its military as the most moral in the world. 

As war rages on in the Middle East, Israel, and Jews all over the world are finding themselves being demonized by the world media. 

This week saw several disturbing developments where public opinion moved against Israel in the face of the facts. The rise of anti-Semitism in Europe is especially alarming.

Fires of Anti-Semitism Rage in Europe

Uninformed and fuelled by media bias protests have sprung up all over the world. The most violent of these have been in France where riots have broken out, and Jewish stores and synagogues have been targeted.  This isn’t an isolated situation that has been overblown. Even Laurent Fabius, Frances Foreign Minister, reflected that many Jews in France are afraid. Reuters reported Frances Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, confirmed that chants of “Death to the Jews” had been heard during a protested earlier. 

Reuters reported, 

In the first three months of 2014 more Jews left France for Israel than at any other time since the Jewish state was created in 1948, citing economic hardships in the stagnating economy but also rising anti-Semitism as a factor.

The cries of “death to the Jews” erupted into active violence July 13, 2014.  The Jerusalem Post reported:

Palestinian sympathizers outside the Synagogue de la Roquette in central Paris that trapped some 200 terrified people inside the building. A street brawl ensued between the rioters and dozens of Jewish men who arrived to defend the synagogue.

The scene outside Jewish stores in Paris, July 2014 following pro-Palestinian riots.

The Article went on to state:

Since Israel launched its military operation against Hamas in Gaza, Jewish houses of worship in and around Paris have been targets.

On the Friday before the violence at the Synagogue de la Roquette, a firebomb was hurled at the entrance to a synagogue in the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois. The next day, a pro-Palestinian crowd gathered outside a synagogue in the Belleville neighbourhood of Paris and chanted about slaughtering Jews. And on the same day as the Roquette synagogue incident, rioters also attacked the nearby Synagogue de la rue des Tournelles.

The riot outside the Synagogue de la Roquette stood out because of the terror it incurred for those inside the shul who had assembled for a gathering in solidarity with Israel….

The police on the scene initially were badly outnumbered by the pro-Palestinian rioters. Azria said the five police officers present focused their efforts on guarding the building’s barricaded entrance while they waited approximately 10 minutes for backup to arrive.

The president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor, called the incident an “attempted pogrom.”

Germany, November 1938 after Kristallnacht, the beginning of the holocaust.

Not only this, but Jewish store windows were smashed throughout Paris, reminiscent of Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass that occurred November 9, 1938 at the incitement of Nazi officials. During this horrific event, Nazi storm troopers along with members of the SS and Hitler Youth beat and murdered Jews, broke into and wrecked Jewish homes, and brutalized Jewish women and children. All over Germany, Austria and other Nazi controlled areas, Jewish shops and department stores had their windows smashed and contents destroyed. Synagogues were especially targeted for vandalism, including desecration of sacred Torah scrolls. Hundreds of synagogues were systematically burned while local fire departments stood by or simply prevented the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings. An estimated 100 Jews were killed on this terrible night, while 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

The parallels to Kristallnacht demonstrate that the current crisis in the Middle East, and the backlash to Jews throughout the world, is not merely a localized political struggle but a religious and ethnic one. Jews are being targeted in Israel and all over the world because they are Jews. The world has learned nothing since 1938.  During that time the world stood idle by while Jews were attacked. Martin Niemöller, a German Lutheran pastor and concentration camp survivor wrote the following:

German Pastor Martin Niemoller
Concentration camp survivor.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

The growth of anti-semitism in Europe is to be expected prior to the invasion described in Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah where the nations of Europe and Russia turn “against my people of Israel”. World opinion is turning against Israel at a shocking rate, and at shockingly high levels. 

Tragic Media Bias

Perhaps a perfect example of tragic media bias was highlighted in an interview between Israeli Ambassador Ron Demer and CNN anchor Erin Burnett:

"What happened here is horrific, and we don't yet even know the scale of how many children may have died. Initial reports indicate that at least sixteen are dead and the initial report said that this attack had come from Israeli tanks. As you know the Israeli military said it may have come from Hamas and a rocket which misfired. Do you know at this point with any more certainty?”

"No, I don't know, but I do know who's responsible for it, and that's Hamas, because they're using schools as weapons depots. And I think it would be a disservice to your viewers for a reporter in Gaza not to mention that in the last week, we had two different UNRWA schools, where we had actually rockets found in the schools and handed over to Hamas….”

"These are two different UN schools, you're saying.”

CNN Anchor Erin Burnett and Israeli Ambassador Ron Demer discuss gross media bias

"That's correct, that's publicly available information. It's kind of an important fact for your reporter to mention. And in addition to that, he may have wanted to mention a statement that was made by – not by the Israeli Ambassador, not by the spokesman of the IDF – but by the UN Secretary General, yesterday. Not last year, yesterday. He said this:”

“The Secretary-General is alarmed to hear that rockets were placed in an UNRWA school in Gaza and that subsequently these have gone missing. He expresses his outrage, and regret, at the placing of weapons in a UN-administered school…. By doing so, those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities, and anyone using the UN schools as shelter.”

"This is yesterday. Do you not think that it's relevant to report on CNN that the secretary general of the UN yesterday warned against the use of UN schools and shelter for rocket missile depots of Hamas…..[Ambassador it is relevant but let me ask…]   I've been listening for two hours of reports on CNN. I've seen split screens, horrible pictures  that any decent human being would be horrified by. I have not hear a single person say what I just said to you now. And I think that that does a disservice to your viewers to not give them the context they need to make these judgements. Hamas is placing missile batteries in schools, in hospitals in mosques, and there must be outrage by the world at Hamas to end this.”

And so the interview went on with the ridiculous notion that Israel should have entered hostile territory, sent soldiers into the school where they were being fired on from and checked it out before firing back.

UN Accuses Israel of War Crimes 

While addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has suggested that the Israeli military might have committed war crimes by shelling and launching airstrikes on civilian neighbourhoods in Gaza.

UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Navi Pillay

My are continuing to document several other cases in which family residences were destroyed, with reported loss of civilian life,  and in which preliminary indications suggest, not even a single member of an armed group was  present.  Then just two days ago, on 21st July, shells hit the Al-Aqsa hospital in  Der-Albella, reportedly killing three people, and wounding dozens of others including doctors. 

These are just a few instances where there seems to be a strong possibility that international humanitarian law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes, Every one of these incidents must be properly and independently investigated.”

Israel is charged with war crimes for defending itself from the shower of rockets by trying to take out the network b uilt by the attackers. 

When the investigation was put up to a vote, 29 countries voted in favor, 17 countries abstained and only the U.S. voted against the initiative.

Never in the history of warfare does the attacked supply the enemy with food, water and medical supplies in the heat of the conflict. Maybe after, but never during. Yet Israel has repeatedly done this. 

Israel is under siege as was described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview:

We regret any civilian death, but those lay entirely at Hamas’ door. Hamas is deliberately targeting our civilians. They have fired 2000 rockets at Israel’s cities.  75% of our population has to be in bomb shelter alert of 60-90 seconds. They are digging these terror tunnels from Gaza, from homes in Gaza to penetrate Israeli territory. They have emerged there and killed Israeli’s and run back, or tried to run back into their territory. So we’ve had to take action. 

What Hamas is doing, very cynically, is embedding its rocketeers, its rocket caches, it tunnels, terror tunnels in homes, in hospitals, and in schools.  When we take action, as targeted as we can, they then use their civilians as human shields. So Hamas is both targeting civilians and hiding behind civilians. That is a double war crime. Therefore all civilian deaths fall on their shoulders….  

Netanyahu went on to point out that Hamas wants to kill its own citizens:

Beleaguered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
addresses a media conference.

The interesting thing is this, we’ve asked the civilian population in Gaza, the people, who are not our enemy, they are hostages of Hamas, we’ve asked them, “please leave”. We’ve texted messages to them, we’ve called them up with cell phones, we’ve dropped leaflets. Hamas says no, don’t leave stay…  They have plenty of  exit points and they know it, but Hamas is saying, “don’t use them”. Hamas wants to kill civilians on the Israeli side, and the amazing, grotesque and gruesome fact is, they want to have as many civilians killed on the Palestinian side, because it gets you to ask me these questions. Of course our goal is not to hurt a single individual, not to hut a single civilian. What they are doing is a double war crime, and it should be condemned with the most forceful action. These people are like ISIS, they are Al Qaeda,  they are like Hezbollah, and the other Iranian proxies.  They don’t give a whit about the Palestinians, and all they want is more civilian deaths….

The Israeli prime minister also pointed out that Israel has done what the international community has asked and this has created the vacuum for Hamas to thrive: 

We handed over Gaza to the Palestinians. We did what the international community has always been telling us: “Take out the settlements, go back to the 1967 lines, hand back the key to the PA.” We did, to the Palestinian Authority they promptly were booted out by Hamas. Hamas with Iran at its back, as Iran has been financing , equipping them, training them, giving them thousands and thousands of rockets. They have turned Gaza into a terror fortress. I think the goal will be after we have obtained a sustainable quiet, to work with the international community, to demilitarize Gaza from the rockets, and to shut down  these terror attack tunnels…. 

 In response to questions, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel has agreed to 3 separate cease fires, while Hamas as refused them all:

But you are right about one thing, I accepted, I called for a cease fire right away. Then I accepted the Egyptian ceasefire, backed up by the Arab League. Then I accepted a UN humanitarian cease fire, which Hamas rejected as well. Then we did a humanitarian cease fire, which Hamas has rejected too. Hamas doesn’t care. I think the last thing you want to do is reward them….     

The Lengths Which Israel Goes to Protect Civilians 

Retired British Commander Colonel Richard Kemp address the UN
Commission after Cast Lead in 2009

Israel isn’t alone in defending its actions. British Commander Colonel Richard Kemp, former British commander in Afghanistan spoke out during the last Israeli military operation in Gaza, Cast Lead. He addressed the UN Commission:

I am the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan. I served with NATO and the United Nations; commanded troops in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Macedonia; and participated in the Gulf War. I spent considerable time in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, and worked on international terrorism for the UK Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee.

Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.

Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population.

Hamas, like Hezbollah, are expert at driving the media agenda. Both will always have people ready to give interviews condemning Israeli forces for war crimes. They are adept at staging and distorting incidents.

The IDF faces a challenge that we British do not have to face to the same extent. It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights…. 

During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. To deliver aid virtually into your enemy's hands is, to the military tactician, normally quite unthinkable. But the IDF took on those risks.

Despite all of this, of course innocent civilian lives were lost . War is chaos and full of mistakes. There have been mistakes by the British, American and other forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, many of which can be put down to human error. But mistakes are not war crimes. 

More than anything, the civilian casualties were a consequence of Hamas’ way of fighting. Hamas deliberately tried to sacrifice its own civilians.

Colonel Kemp appeared on Israeli
Channel 2 News this week addressing
the same issues.

The world has learned nothing from what happened in Cast Lead and has risen to condemn Israel again. In an interview just the other day, Kemp addressed the same scenario Israel is facing today:

There are war crimes being committed in Gaza, and the death of children, babies, men, and women in Gaza is undoubtedly a war crime. But it is a war crime being committed by Hamas, not by Israel. As far as I can see, and I have watched this campaign very closely, Israel is conducting the campaign in an exemplary fashion. Of course there will be mistakes, and there are errors and difficulties… but Israel as far as I can see is exercising the maximum possible restraint. The only thing they can do, short of what they are doing, is sit back and take it from Hamas. They cannot do that. How can the government of Israel allow its civilian population to be hammered by missiles time and time again and do nothing about it. There is no country in this world, including the United Kingdom who would put up with missiles coming in towards it citizens and sit back and take it.  

When asked about the concept of Israel using disproportionate force, this was his response:

I have heard a number of people such as Ban Ki-Moon, and our own Prime Minister David Cameron, and President Obama, suggesting that Israel should do more, and in some cases saying that Israel should do more,  to protect civilian life. I’d like to hear them explain what it is that Israel should do? As a man of 30 years military experience I cannot think of one single thing that Israel can do more to protect civilian life than what they are doing now. I think they have gone further than other country, any other military, that I’m aware of, or that I’ve seen in taking such steps to stop the death of innocent civilians. But when you are fighting an enemy, Hamas, who wants you to kill their civilians, who sometimes force their civilians to stay on military objectives that you are legitimately attacking, casualties are inevitable….

Colonel Kemp also said Hamas was not alone to blame in the tragedy that has happened in Gaza:

The international community, I think, should bear some culpability, because Israel was subject to month after month, even in this round, of rocket attacks, delivered onto its territory. Despite the Israeli ambassador in the UN, appealing for the UN to something to try and mitigate this and bring pressure down, the UN ignored it, so I think there is culpability outside. 

The reality is the world is drunk with the wine of the media distorting fact and judging the situation by distorted sound-bites and video clips skewed to paint Israel as the “bad guy”. Really, it is a demonstration of an age-old hatred that predates the Nazis, the inquisition, the Romans, Greeks or Babylonians… it goes back to the beginning. It is the enmity that exists between the people God chose to put his name on, and those who are not interested in God’s ways:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) 

The scriptures predict that the world will turn things upside down:

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; That put darkness for light, and light for darkness; That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20) 

This is exactly what we are seeing in the world today. A wicked organization like Hamas is being defended by the Media, while Israel who is trying to defend itself is being condemned throughout the world. 

In fact, a first century Jew, the Apostle Paul wrote the following of the way the world would end up if it rejected the knowledge of God:

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Romans 1:28–32) 

The world does not like to retain God in its knowledge, and gullibly uses media manipulation to frame its morality.  The description in Romans fits what we are seeing today Hamas, the media who support it, and the UN have become “inventors of evil things.” One of the accusations is that they are “without natural affection” which is defined as heartless, or lacking normal human affection. This couldn’t more aptly describe a government that willingly sacrifices its own children to gain media attention. This is like the child worship of Molech performed by the ancient Canaanite nations inhabiting the same regions. Christian governments should not make the mistake of sanctioning child sacrifice and having “pleasure in them that do them”. 

The battle that is really raging is one for truth, as was pointed out by Netanyahu in 2012 when addressing a group of Israeli young people:

If I said what is the greatest battle we face, of course we live in a tough neighborhood, and we have to defend ourselves. We have the bravest soldiers in the world to do that. But the most important battle we have to fight is the battle for the truth, and all of you can become ambassadors for the truth, and ambassadors for Israel. 

Britain Defends Israel

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address
address a press conference during Philips visit to Israel this week.

One of the bright sparks out of this whole conflagration has been Britain’s realization of Israel’s plight. When Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond visited Israel this week, he and Netanyahu held a joint press conference :

I think you as a representative of the UK, of Britain, have a special understanding, at least an historical understanding of what Israel is undergoing. There has only been one other instance where a democracy has been rocketed and pelleted by these projectiles of death, and that is Britain during WWII. Israel is undergoing a similar bombardment now. We are responding in our own way, by targeting the rocketeers and seeking to ferret out these terrorists, who are hiding behind civilians while firing at our civilians. This is a double war crime….

Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond had the following to say:

I am here because the UK, along with the rest of the international community, is determined to do what it can to help to bring this current conflict to a quick end. Britain has been very clear, I have been very clear, Prime Minister Cameron has been very clear, that this current cycle of violence was triggered by Hamas firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli towns and cities indiscriminately, and in breach of international humanitarian law. Britain has also  been very clear that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens…. 

Bible students have been expecting Britain to support Israel eventually, because she is the Merchant of Tarshish who is joined by the young lions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States in opposing Israel’s invasion in the latter days, for we read: 

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezekiel 38:13) 

Britain at times looses its way, and forgets what direction the prophets have pointed it in, but the angelic hand turns them around the job designated in the scriptures in the end. In America the House of Representatives approved a non-binding resolution backing Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks. 

What can we do. The most powerful weapon is prayer. James tells us, 

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) 

So we are instructed in the Psalms:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, And prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.” (Psalm 122:6–8) 

So the duty of all Bible believers is to fervently make this prayer, continually:

“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, Which shall never hold their peace day nor night: Ye that make mention of the LORD, Keep not silence, And give him no rest, Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (Isaiah 62:6–7) 

What we look forward to is the day when Moshiach, the Messiah is revealed, described by Isaiah:

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, And reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” (Isaiah 11:1–5) 

IRAQ ' SPIRALLING INTO CHAOS . . . ITS ' SHOCKING FUTURE ' FORE-TOLD

' IRAQ ' SPIRALLING INTO CHAOS . . . ITS ' SHOCKING FUTURE ' FORE-TOLD !!!


In just 72 hours . . . IRAQ has been torn apart. With the lightning invasion of Al-Qaeda affiliated ' Sunni ' terrorist group ' ISIS ' storming across northern Iraq , capturing 30+ cities & towns , oil refineries & vast caches of US supplied military weapons & equipment from the fleeing Iraqi army . . . the nation of Iraq is in a state of siege. Over 500,000 people have fled as the sectarian violence between Shi'ites ,Sunni's & the Kurds threatens to explode across Iraq. Kurdish militias have reacted by retaking Kirkuk. As the USA mulls over a response, Iran has acted , sending it's feared Republican Guard Al-Quds forces to fortify Iraq's collapsing Shi'ite Govt. Iran's move is a sinister development , a harbinger of a devastating coming invasion ' foretold ' in God's Word

As Sunni's & Kurds now threaten to topple the Iranian-allied Shi'ite Govt , we are now seeing events that will trigger Iran's coming ' latter-day ' invasion of Iraq - prophesied over 2,500 years ago !!

Jer 51 v11,28 - 29 - Make ‘ bright ‘ the arrows ( rockets / missiles ) ; gather the shields : the LORD hath raised up ‘ the spirit ‘ of thekings of the Medes ( Iran ) for his device is against Babylon ( IRAQ ) to destroy it , because it is ' the vengeance ' of the LORD . . .Prepare against her ( IRAQ ) the nations , with the kings of the Medes ( Iran ) the captains thereof & all the rulers & all the land of his dominion. The land shall tremble & sorrow : for every purpose ' of the LORD ' shall be performed against Babylon ( IRAQ ) to make the land of Babylon ( IRAQ ) a ' desolation '



Isa 13v17 - Behold , I will stir up the Medes ( Iran ) against them ( IRAQ ) which shall not regard silver & as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their ( Iran ) bows also shall dash the young men to pieces & they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb ; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon ( IRAQ ) the glory of kingdoms … shall be as when God overthrew Sodom & Gomorrah.

Crisis in Crimea & Ukraine Bible Prophecy and World News Today

Iran: Progress Made On Oil-For-Goods Agreement With Russia

Iran: Progress Made On Oil-For-Goods Agreement With Russia 

Stratfor 12-Apr-14 

Iranian-Russian negotiations over an oil-for-goods agreement and the signing of a $20 billion contract have entered a new phase, with Iran beginning work on the Neka oil terminal in the Caspian Sea, Iran's Mehr news agency reported April 12. Tehran and Moscow have reached initial agreements, allowing Iran to begin dredging the terminal, which will be the country's largest platform in the Caspian, to prepare it for the berthing of bigger tankers. If the agreement is finalized, Russia will import around 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil per day. Though Russia and Iran may see short-term benefits for keeping the dialogue going, the actual implementation of the oil-for-goods deal is risky for both countries. 

Crisis in Ukraine in Bible prophecy, Invasion of Israel, Christ's Second Coming

Jeremiah and other prophets predicted a great invasion of Israel "from the north". These 

prophecies had some primary fulfillments which pointed forward to the final denouement of the 

latter days. Around the time of Jeremiah, the Scythians had marauded much of the Middle East, 

including Israel. Although this is barely recorded in Biblical history, it is a well attested 

historical fact. When Jeremiah spoke of an invasion from the North, and Ezekiel spoke of 

marauding bands of Scythian-related tribes attacking the land, everyone would've thought of the 

recent attacks by the Scythians. As John Skinner put it: "In these events, especially the Scythian 

incursion into Palestine, most historians have found the suggestion and background of Jeremiah's 

prophecies of the Foe from the North" (1). Significantly, "Jeremiah's ministry is stated to have 

begun at approximately the time to which Herodotus assigns the Scythian invasion" (2). It could 

be argued that Jeremiah and Ezekiel's prophecies of a northern invader had a primary fulfillment 

in the lives of the prophets in the Scythian invasion, which were then to be understood as a type 

of the latter day invasion "from the north". This would be in keeping with the Mosaic test of a 

true prophet- his predictions must come to pass, otherwise he is to be seen as a false prophet. It 

could therefore be the predictions of the Biblical prophets about a northern invasion had to have 

a short term fulfillment, which had relevance to their ultimate 'fullerfilment' in the events of our 

last days. Whilst the prophecies do have some application to the Babylonian invasion of Judah, 

we must recall that Ezekiel was prophesying after that event, as Israel sat by the rivers of 

Babylon; and Jeremiah's descriptions of the northern invasion have some elements which fit 

better with the Scythian incursions than the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem. Not least the 

sudden, unexpected nature of the attacks is better fitted by far to the Scythians than to the 

Babylonians. It could be that his prophecies had an immediate primary fulfillment in the 

Scythian invasions, and then another dim fulfillment in the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem, 

both of which primary fulfillments look forward to the final denouement in the latter days. 

Who, then, were the Scythians? The question is important to understand because their invasions 

are a shadow of the latter day invasion of Israel. Much Soviet and Eastern European 

archeological research into the Scythians remains only in Russian and has never been released in 

English. If it had been, the Scythian invasions would perhaps have featured more prominently in 

the prophetic thinking of the Western brotherhood. Excavations of Scythian settlements 

throughout Russia and the Ukraine have yielded various objects which have also been found in 

the Middle Eastern areas which the Scythians invaded around the time of the Old Testament 

prophets. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, the USSR's answer to the West's Encyclopedia 

Britannica (although much larger), has a wealth of information about these findings. Here are a 

few examples:

The Scythians had a very specific style of bronze arrowhead. The Soviet archaeologist A.M. 

Leskov discovered many of these in sites around Kakhovka and Lubimovka in the Ukraine- incidentally, the location of thriving Christadelphian ecclesias today. The very same style of 

arrowhead was unearthed in Samaria, Lachish and Amman (Jordan). 

- The same goes for Scythian horse bridles and iron axes.

The Scythians had very specific and distinctive styles of burial. Being horsemen from the 

steppes of Ukraine and southern Russia, the forerunners of the Cossacks, their leaders were 

buried with many horses. Thus there was the mass slaughter of horses, which were then buried 

with the dead leader. Throughout the former Soviet Union, such burial mounds have been 

unearthed- from the southern Ukraine to the frozen Scythian tombs in Pazryk in the Altai 

mountains (in Siberia, central Russia) (3). 

- The layout of Scythian burial chambers from the Ukraine through Russia and down to modern 

day Israel and Iran has been found to be identical (4). 

The various studies also contain the observation that the Scythian remains in Russia and Ukraine 

include not only loot they had taken back with them from the Middle East (e.g. Persian carpets 

preserved in the frozen burial mounds of Scythian villages in Siberia), but also reflect evidence 

of how the Scythians became influenced by Middle Eastern culture. This indicates how the 

Scythians made some alliances with some of the local powers during their time 'down South'. In 

some of the Scythian sites, notably Pazryk in Siberia, there are the motifs of the eagle, gryphon, 

winged lion etc.- which were all associated with Assyria and Babylon (5). This indicates some 

degree of co-operation between the Scythians and the Babylonians, rather than raw conflict 

between them. Indeed, there is both historical and archaeological evidence that the Scythians 

were mercenaries used by Nebuchadnezzar in his attack upon Jerusalem. Yamauchi reports how 

Scythian arrowheads have been found around Jerusalem in the same material which dates to the 

Babylonian destruction of the city and temple (6). That "day of the Lord" was a clear type of the 

final "day of the Lord" when the Northern armies attack God's people. This could well suggest a 

latter day coalition between latter day "Babylon" and the latter day Scythians- the inhabitants of 

Ukraine and Russia. In the early meetings between the Byzantines and the inhabitants of Ukraine 

and Southern Russia in the 9th century, the surviving records show the Scythian leaders (e.g. 

Prince Svetoslav) being addressed as "Prince of Rosh" or Rus by the emissaries from Byzantium. 

Several connections between Rosh / Rus and the Scythians are made by the Byzantine historian 

Leo the Deacon in his 10th century records; at times he uses the terms interchangeably (7). 

Given this background, we can look for the final 'northern invader' to be led by Babylon / 

Assyria, and yet to be supported by the latter day Scythians. We need to remember that most of 

the military achievements of Babylon / Assyria were not achieved by their own forces directly; 

their military and organizational genius was in mustering the support of mercenaries and other 

fighters. The Scythians played a large part in this when it came to Israel, even if Western 

versions of ancient history has been relatively quiet about it. Significantly, Ezekiel 38 speaks of 

the invasion with specific reference to this Scythian element. If we are to interpret the latter day 

Scythians geographically, then this would lead us to search for their latter day equivalent in the 

lands of Ukraine, Russia and the steppes of northern Kazakhstan. 

Israel at a Point of No Return - In the Right Direction

Israel at a Point of No Return - In the Right Direction
by David P. GoldmanPJ Media 12-Feb-14
I should like to advance a conjecture which I lack the qualifications to adequately develop: The global Left, and the Israeli Left most of all, perceives that the clock is running out, and has worked itself up into a froth of hysteria against Israel. The world of John Lennon's "Imagine," where there are no countries and no religions, is about to dissipate like last night's marijuana fumes. The demographic time bomb that worries the Left is not the relative increase of Arab vs. Jewish populations between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, speciously cited by John Kerry and a host of other errant utopians: it is the growth of the Jewish population itself, and Israel's transformation into the world's most religious country.
Israel now has a religious majority, as Times of Israel blogger Yoseif Bloch observes:
    "According to our Central Bureau of Statistics, 43% of Israeli Jews are secular, 9% are haredi, and the remaining 48% are somewhere between masorti (traditional) and dati (religious): 23% the former, 10% the latter, and 15% smack in the middle. These five groups do not parallel the five groups identified by Pew, e.g. Orthodox is a denomination, while dati is a declaration."
So 57% of Israelis practice a form of Judaism that for the most part Americans would call "Orthodox," in that it recognizes normative Judaism in the rabbinic tradition (the presence of the "progressive" Reform and Conservative movements is almost imperceptible and largely limited to transplanted Americans). Many Israelis who are dati are far from completely observant, but there is a great gulf fixed between a semi-observant Jew who knows what observance is, and a "progressive" who asserts the right to reinvent tradition according to personal taste.
This majority seems to be expanding fast. I spent the second half of December in Jerusalem promoting the Hebrew translation of my book How Civilizations Die and was struck by the increase in commitment to religious observance, including among people who were steadfastly secular. Almost half of Israel's army officers are "national religious" and trained in pre-army academies that teach Judaism, Jewish history, as well as physical training and military subjects. The ultra-Orthodox are going to work rather than studying full time, little by little, but the little adds up to a lot. Naftali Bennett's national-religious party "Jewish Home" has created a new political focus for the national-religious. Outreach organizations like Beit Hillel are bringing once-secular Israelis back to observance. Beit Hillel's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth, was in New York recently lecturing about Israel's religious revival.
Anecdotally, I see this in my own small circle of Israeli acquaintances. A musician friend told me that he attends a Talmud class every Shabbat — he can't stand praying, but he is hungry for Torah. A journalist friend dresses her young boys in the tallit katan, the fringed undergarment of the very observant. It is becoming normal in Jerusalem restaurants to wash hands before bread and to recite the Grace after Meals.
This is a crucial, counterintuitive story: Israel is swimming against the secular current, becoming more observant as the rest of the world becomes more secular. Perhaps the explanation lies in the observation of the Catholic sociologist Mary Eberstadt, who argued in a brilliant 2007 essay that it is our children who bring us to faith. Last year Mary expanded the essay into a book which I had the honor to discuss in Claremont Review of Books. It is a commonplace of demographers' correlation that people of faith have more children: Mary argues that the causality goes both ways, that having children reinforces our faith. Israeli is a standpoint in the modern world with a fertility rate of 3.0 children per woman (the closest second is the U.S. with just 1.9). Excluding the ultra-Orthodox the number is 2.6 children per woman, still outside the range of the rest of the industrial world. Secular Israelis are having three children. Not only does that defuse the much-touted "demographic time bomb." It ultimately changes the character of the country. It validates the hundred-year-old argument of Rabbi Isaac Kook, one of the founders of religious Zionism, that identification with the Jewish people eventually will lead Jews back to Judaism.
This national religious revival is not occurring at the expense of Israeli or West Bank Arabs. On the contrary, the Arab population between the River and the Sea is flourishing as no modern Arab population ever did. A fifth of Israel's medical students are Arab, as are a third of the students at the University of Haifa. Ariel University across the "Green Line" in Samaria, the "settler's university," is educating a whole generation of West Bank Arabs. The campus is full of young Arab women in headscarves, and the local Jewish leadership reaches out to Arab villages to recruit talented students. Israel's expanding economy has a bottomless demand for young people of ability and ambition. The Left calls Israel an "apartheid state" the way it used to call America a "fascist state" back in the 1960s.
The Israeli Left, with its soggy vision of univeralist utopianism, may be at a point of no return. It is becoming marginalized and irrelevant. The Europeans, whose experience of nationalism has been uniformly horrific, are equally aghast. Liberal Christians who abhor the Election of Israel because they abhor Christian orthodoxy cannot suppress their rage. And "progressive" American Jews, who have been running away from Judaism for the past three generations, are upset that Israel has embraced the normative Judaism they worked so hard to suppress. American "progressive" and unaffiliated Jews, one should remember, have the lowest fertility rate of any identifiable minority in the United States. Even if most of them did not intermarry (and the intermarriage rate in the past ten years approaches 70% according to the October 2013 Pew study) their infertility would finish them off in a few generations. Meanwhile 74% of all Jewish children in the New York area live in Orthodox families. The center of gravity of Judaism will shift decisively to Israel in the next generation, and the segment of American Jewry that most identifies with Israel–the Orthodox–will set the tone for American Judaism and eventually become the majority in a much smaller American Jewish population.
It is up to the Israelis, to be sure, to draw out the implications of these trends. But I am encouraged by the perceptions of religious leaders like Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth, who perceive this revival in their daily work.
This is good news for Christians as well as Jews. The secularization thesis is refuted: a country with the world's greatest record of high-tech innovation is also becoming the industrial world's most religious country. It is devastating news for Lennonists as well as Leninists. The "Imagine" world turns out to be imaginary. Israel, as Franz Rosenzweig said of the Jewish people, is there to be "the paragon and exemplar of a nation." For all its flaws, the State of Israel stands as a beacon to people of faith around the world. It is honored by its list of self-appointed enemies. Will Israel prevail against the unholy coalition against it? As we say, b'ezrat Hashem.
    David P. Goldman is Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Israeli tech start-ups join London IPO wave

Israeli tech start-ups join London IPO wave
Daily Telegraph 12-Feb-14
Marimedia and Matomy part of a clutch of Tel-Aviv based businesses eyeing a London listing
Britain’s equity market is becoming a magnet for Israel-based technology companies which are considering choosing London rather than the Tel Aviv stock exchange this year for flotations.
Israeli investors and entrepreneurs raised $361m (£219m) last year via IPOs, the most since 2007, and a stark reversal of a trend which saw most companies exiting through a sale.
Israel has been dubbed the “start-up nation” due to an explosion of innovation in the region. Six Israeli technology companies are currently in discussions about listing in London this year, sources close to the process said.
Digital advertising company Matomy is understood to be working with Rothschild, UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch on launching an initial public offering before the summer. The company is looking to raise £60m, which will value it at around £200m to £300m. Matomy declined to comment.
Unlike other digital advertising companies, Matomy only charges a publisher when an advert generates revenues. The company’s founder, Kfir Moyal, started programming computers aged 10 and made $100 a month pocket money by building websites at 14.
The company now has 10 global offices in Israel, Spain, Germany, Mexico, San Francisco and New York, employing 400 people. Matomy has recorded double-digit revenue growth, reporting $200m last year.
Meanwhile, Marimedia, another Israeli digital advertising company, is in the early stages of considering a London listing, sources said.
The company is understood to have met with a clutch of investment banks but has not yet given a mandate.
A Marimedia spokesman declined to comment.
Digital advertising spending has grown at three times the rate of traditional advertising revenues, leaving companies to grapple with incorporating new technologies into their business plans.
Israeli website design company Wix, which successfully floated in New York last year, is understood to be behind the resurgence in Tel Aviv-based companies looking to tap the capital markets.

Iran Simulates Destruction of Tel Aviv

Iran Simulates Destruction of Tel Aviv
Israel Today 11-Feb-14
Iranian television over the weekend aired a special program threatening Israel and simulating the destruction of Tel Aviv.
As part of a documentary titled "The Nightmare of Vultures," the public was treated to computer-generated simulations of Iranian aircraft and missiles destroying civilian targets such as Hamedina Square, Ben Gurion Airport and the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv.
The simulations were interspersed with footage of Israelis seeking shelter during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when Hezbollah fired thousands of missiles into northern Israel.
Iranian military officials also warned that they could easily sink American ships stationed in the region, and boasted of having the Middle East's largest army. They claimed that an Iranian fleet is already sailing for America's territorial waters.
While US officials were understandably unimpressed with the threats, the Iranian bluster again demonstrated that the Islamic Republic does indeed have hostile intentions toward Israel, and as such should be prevented from attaining nuclear weapons

Third shipment of chemical weapons leaves Syria - UN

Third shipment of chemical weapons leaves Syria - UN
BBC 11-Feb-14
A third shipment of chemical weapons materials has left Syria, with some destroyed inside the country, the global chemical weapons watchdog says.
The material was shipped on board a Norwegian cargo vessel, accompanied by a fleet from China, Denmark, Norway and Russia, the joint UN-OPCW mission said.
Syria has recently missed several deadlines in an internationally-agreed destruction timetable.
But the government insists it will meet the final deadline at the end of June.
Under a UN resolution backed by Russia and the US, Syria is to surrender all of its 1,300 tonnes of declared chemical weapons for destruction by mid-2014.
But the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is overseeing the destruction operation with the UN, has admitted the process has been slowed down by security concerns.
The announcement came as a second round of peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition negotiators opened in Geneva.
Call for expedition
In its latest statement, the joint mission said it "welcomed the progress to date," but did not detail how much material had been shipped out or destroyed.
However, it encouraged the Syrian authorities "to expedite systematic, predictable and high-volume movements to complete the safe removal of chemical materials".
Last week, Syria failed to meet a deadline to ship "priority two" material out of the country, which the government said was caused by attacks on shipments of weapons en route from Damascus to the port of Latakia.
US officials have voiced concerns that the UN-backed plan is falling behind schedule. But Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad told the BBC last week that "Syria is doing its best" to comply with the timetable.
So far, only around 30 of 1,300 tonnes have been removed - 4% of "priority one" chemicals and roughly the same percentage of "priority two".
The removal of priority one chemicals was due for completion by 31 December, while the deadline for priority two was 5 February.
Russia - a key ally of Syria - has said Damascus should complete the transfer of its chemical weapons to the coast for removal by ship by 1 March.
The deal to eradicate Syria's chemical weapons came about after a chemical weapons attack in August in the outskirts of Damascus that killed hundreds of civilians.
The US and Syrian opposition blamed the government for the attack. It denied responsibility.

Obama may be in two minds over Kerry’s Israeli-Palestinian peace mission

Obama may be in two minds over Kerry’s Israeli-Palestinian peace mission
Debka 07-Feb-14
The give-and-take over an Israeli-Palestinian accord, doggedly kept afloat by US Secretary of State John Kerry, is resolving itself into a complex personal dynamic: Israel’s A-team - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon – are not of one mind on the issues; Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’s popular base is infamously narrow and flimsy. And John Kerry, too, needs to overcome reservations in President Obama’s White House team to obtain his blessing for an accord. He is not entirely sure he will get it. Ya’alon is the holdout.
However, Lieberman's defense of the Secretary of State's views was welcomed by the State Department as “very important to the peace process, given his background on these issues and where his view was,”
Friday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s said: “Kerry is a true friend of Israel. I don’t see the point of turning friends into foes.
"Kerry is leading the process correctly,” Lieberman added.
Lieberman’s change of heart may be attributed to his political ambition and desire to attract and lead a strong centrist camp.
Top of the Document
February 8, 2014 Briefs
    Egyptian air strikes kill 16 Sinai terrorists
    Egypt’s military spokesman Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said on Saturday that the air strikes had targeted hideouts of "terrorist, extremely dangerous" armed groups with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in the northern Sinai, killing 16 terrorists,.
    First Iranian warships head for US Atlantic borders
    The commander of Iran's Northern Navy Fleet, Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad, said Saturday that several warships - the destroyer Sabalan and logistic helicopter carrier Khark - have begun their journey to the Atlantic Ocean near US maritime waters for the first time. They carry a message, he said: Tehran is responding to US naval deployments near its own coastlines.
    Grenade thrown at Israeli patrol on 443 Rte to Jerusalem
    An improvised grenade was thrown Saturday night at an Israeli military patrol on Rte 443 to Jerusalem near Maccabim. There were no casualties. The soldiers fired in the air. debkafile: A high alert has been in force on Rte 443 since mid-week following intelligence of Palestinian terrorist gangs preparing to hit the passing traffic.
    Khamenei reverts to anti-American abuse
    Iran’s Supreme Leader said Saturday: "American officials tell our authorities at talks that they are not after regime change in Iran. They are lying because they won't hesitate a moment if they had the ability to do so," he said.
    US concerned by Americans fighters returning home from Syria
    The civil war in Syria has become a matter of US homeland security over concerns that “a small number of Americans” have gone to fight with Syrian rebels and returned home,” the new US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Friday. The estimated 7,000 foreigners from 50 countries fighting in the bloody war include those from the United States, Canada and Europe, he said.

February 9, 2014 Briefs
    Israeli man stabbed in Jerusalem Old City
    The Orthodox Israeli man, 24, was stabbed in the back at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. He suffered a moderate injury. His assailant got away.
    Israel air strike injures wanted Al Qaeda-linked terrorist
    The IDF spokesman reported that Abdullah Harouti, 29, a high-profile operative of the al Qaeda-linked Sinai-Gaza-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, was gravely injured riding a motorcycle in the Gaza Strip. Harouti was wanted for the attack eighteen months ago from Egyptian Sinai on an Israeli bus carrying soldiers and other vehicles on Rte 12 to Eilat. Six Israelis were killed in that attack and 40 injured. He is also connected to recent Absar Bayt al-Maqdis missile fire from Sinai against Israeli targets, including the resort town of Eilat.

Russian anti-terror drive leaves 10 dead around Sochi

9 Feb. Russian special forces are engaged in a relentless offensive to pin down would be Islamist terrorists on their home ground or hideouts in Dagestan, Chechnya, Kirgizstan and Kabardino Balkaria, casting a wide safety fence around the Winter Olympic Games which opened in Sochi Friday, Feb. 7. Seven terrorists were killed in Russian operations. debkafile: This safety net has been spread across the Caucasius and France, Austria and Germany, with special focus on suspected female suicide terrorists. This preventive offensive must be sustained at top pitch until the Feb. 23 closing ceremony, which is believed to be a special target for suicide bombers.
French police last week detained an unknown number of Chechen women at La Roche-sur-Yon and Strasbourg. In Austria and Germany, our sources report at least 10 terror suspects taken into custody, most of them females. The authorities there are keeping this affair closely secret.

February 10, 2014 Briefs
    Rouhani: Iran test-launches two long-range missiles
    The day after being taken to task for cancelling an missile exercise, President Hassan Rouhani disclosed successful launches of two long-range ballistic missiles. One was said to have radar-evading capabilities; the second laser-guided and could be fired from the ground or from aircraft.
    Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi also revealed a new generation of extra-powerful centrifuges that are 15 to 16 times more powerful than the older types. Iran will therefore lose noting by diplomacy with the six powers.
    Rocket from Gaza explodes near Ashkelon
    Another rocket was fired from Gaza Monday and exploded outside Ashkelon.

Iran spreads its war wings: Hizballah deepens role in Syria. Israel, Syria, Lebanon declared “regions of conflict”

10 Feb. In a policy makeover, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has decided to seal off in a separate policy compartment Iran’s nuclear diplomatic tactics for obtaining sanctions relief - and for dominating the Syrian war negotiations resuming in Geneva, Monday, Feb. 10, and Iran’s pursuit of its regional goals, in another box. Alongside diplomacy, Al Qods Brigades chief Qassem Soleimani will execute Iran’s drive to expand its regional interventions, Hizballah is already deepening its role in the Syrian civil war, while Lebanon, Syria and Israel are targeted by Tehran as “areas of conflict.”

February 11, 2014 Briefs
    Cameron cancels trip to Israel, Palestinian Authority over flood crisis
    To take charge of the flood crisis inundating large parts of southern Britain since December, Prime Minister David Cameron announced Tuesday he was cancelling his Mid East trip next week with apologies to Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas. “Money is no object for dealing with the crisis,” he pledged.
    Iran’s Rev Guards chief calls US military option ”ludicrous”
    Revolutionary Guards chief Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari dismissed the viability of a US military option against Iran as ludicrous. Addressing the “Death to USA Grand Prize” ceremony in Tehran, he added that Iranian military and security commanders are not bluffing about the country’s military capability, concluding that“Americans really cannot do a damn thing.”
    Abe Foxman to step down as ADL director
    After almost half a century of service as national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, 73, the scourge of anti-Semites and other racists, announces he is retiring in July 2015. He was born in the Soviet Union, survived the Holocaust as a hidden child and moved to the United States with his parents. The ADL has 30 regional offices in the United States and one in Israel.
    Israel displays new Super Heron drone at Singapore
    The Israeli Aerospace Industry unveiled its new Super Heron UAV at the Singapore Airshow Tuesday. The drone is powered by a 200 hp heavy-fuel for maximum sped of 150 knots and is fitted with aerodynamic enhancements such as winglets.
    Obama-Hollande talks to cover Iran, Syria, Lebanon, al Qaeda in Africa
    Visiting French President Francois Hollande was accorded exceptional honors by his host Barack Obama on arrival for his two-day state visit to Washington. Their talks cover areas where the two leaders are in accord: efforts to resolve nuclear concerns in Iran, ending the civil war in Syria, and fighting al Qaeda incursions in Africa.
    Israeli air strikes target two terrorist targets after Gaza rockets
    Israeli air strikes hit a buried rocket launch pad and a Hamas training facility in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday in reprisal for Palestinian rocket fire in recent days. debkafile: Reports in local media that Israel had shifted its reprisal policy away from air strikes to targeted assassinations of high-profile terrorists were unfounded. Both remain in force.

Washington asks Netanyahu to hold back from answering Iranian threats

11 Feb. Iran’s leaders celebrated the 35th anniversary of their Islamic revolution Tuesday, Feb.11, with a torrent of hate rhetoric and threats surpassing even the crudely belligerent language used by former President Mahmoud Ahamedinejad. As his audience burned US and Israeli flags and stamped on placards depicting President Obama, President Hassan Rouhani mocked America’s military option, while Khamenei called for Israel’s extermination as a “cancerous growth” in the Middle East. Yet Barack Obama opted not to react and persuaded Prime Minister Netanyahu follow his lead.

Netanyahu accepts Kerry’s “framework” in principle

11 Feb. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has informed Washington of his acceptance in principle of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s framework document - subject to reservations raised with US Special Envoy Martin Indyk. A high-ranking US official told debkafile: “We all know the die is cast in Jerusalem and Netanyahu has accepted Kerry’s guidelines. They are now working on the reservations he needs to submit for his government coalition to survive the expected storm of protest and resistance and for the talks with the Palestinians to carry on.”

February 12, 2014 Briefs
    March 3 set for Netanyahu White House visit
    The White House announced that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet President Barack Obama on March 3. They will discuss progress in negotiations with the Palestinians, the Iranian nuclear question and other regional issues. . debkafile: That meeting signifies that the prime minister has decided to accept the US Secretary of State John Kerry’s line on the peace talks ongoing with the Palestinians
    Iran’s top soldier joins chorus of war threats
    Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces General Hassan Firouzabadi said Wednesday that Iran is ready for the “decisive battle” against the US and the Zionist regime. "We warn them that if an attack is launched on our troops from any territory, we will invade all the enemy’s possessions,” he reiterated.
    Egypt’s Gen. El-Sisi in Moscow to sign $2 bn arms deal
    Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi arrived in Moscow Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will sign a large arms transaction worth $2 bn, financed by Saudi Arabia - confirming debkafile reporting in recent weeks. The package will include new Russian warplanes and missiles.

February 13, 2014 Briefs
    Israeli patrol shoots Palestinian dead at Gaza fence
    The IDF patrol opened fire on three Palestinians trying to sabotage the Gaza border fence, when they ignored two warnings to back off and shots fired in the air. One of the three Palestinians was killed.
    Putin backs El-Sisi’s bid for Egyptian presidency
    Although the Egyptian strongman Gen. Abdul-Fattah El-Sisi has not officially announced his run for the presidency, Russian President Vladimir greeted him warmly in Moscow Wednesday, saying: "I know that you, mister defense minister, have decided to run for president of Egypt. I wish you luck.”
    Seven explosive packages sent to UK army offices
    A suspicious vehicle detained outside an RAF base was found to contain an explosive package after seven packages, at least two containing “small but viable explosive devices,” were delivered to UK army offices in southern England Thursday. They arrived as British authorities including the army were struggling with a major flood disaster.
    Found and Lost in Gaza: Unique bronze statue of Apollo
    A complete bronze statue of Apollo, at least 2,000 years old and weighing half a ton, was caught by a Gaza fisherman last August and taken home on a donkey cart - only to be seized by Hamas police and to disappear again. The statue has not been seen since – only intriguingly a photo of the nude god with all his limbs intact, laid out on what looks like the kitchen table at the fisherman’s home.

Syrian-Hizballah forces storm Yabroud

13 Feb. Syrian and Hizballah troops launched a major assault Wednesday, Feb. 12, on Yabroud, the Christian-Sunni Muslim town, 80 km north of Damascus, which is the last stronghold in the strategic Qalalmoun mountains held by Syrian rebel and Islamist forces. debkafile: Its fall would open the highway from Damascus to Homs and the Allawite regions, secure Hizballah’s supply routes from Lebanon and potentially revive flagging Syrian army morale. Iranian Al Qods Brigades spies report Yabroud is also the source of the bombing attacks targeting Hizballah in Beirut, Baalbek and the Beqaa Valley.

Pope Coming To Israel As 'Che Guevera of Palestinians'

Pope Coming To Israel As 'Che Guevera of Palestinians' 

Arutz Sheva 05-Feb-14 

Reports from sources close to pope reveal his upcoming visit meant as PA propaganda, Elkin calls reports 'exaggerated.' 

Pope Francis apparently plans to heed Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's calls, and use his upcoming visit to Israel in May as a propaganda move for the Palestine Authority (PA) against Israel, according to reports in Makor Rishon. 

The revelation comes from Rabbi Sergio Bergman, a member of the Argentinian parliament and close friend of Pope Francis, who claimed the pope intends to define himself as the "Che Guevera of the Palestinians" and support their "struggle and rights." 

In late December it was similarly noted that the pope will not host "mass" prayer services in Jerusalem during his trip, but instead in PA-controlled Bethlehem as a show of support. The move is slightly ironic, as most Christians have reportedly been driven out of the city by Muslims, while Abbas has claimed "Jesus was Palestinian." 

Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud Beytenu) spoke with Arutz Sheva about the subject, noting that the foreign ministry is preparing for the visit and keeping an eye on developments between representatives from the Vatican and the PA. 

Elkin claims Rabbi Bergman's description is exaggerated, and that he doesn't anticipate the pope to reference communist revolutionary Che Guevera as a model, even as he stresses that all official visitors are asked to stay balanced and "not dance at two weddings." 

"Our role is to ensure that there won't be an unusual gesture, and we have the tools to do so," remarked Elkin, noting that talks are ongoing with the Vatican, which understands Israel would oppose such statements. 

Elkin further claims the Vatican has important interests that would prevent it from taking a blatantly anti-Israel stance as described by Rabbi Bergman, saying "they won't want to endanger those interests." 

Last July, Elkin rejected reports that the foreign ministry was planning to sign an agreement transferring all or part of King David's Tomb, located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, to the Vatican. Above the tomb is located a room in which the Catholic Church claims the "Last Supper" occurred. 

Despite Elkin's assurances, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, founder of the Temple Institute, warned in late January that the pope's visit may be timed for exactly such a transfer of ownership to occur, referencing the 2008 agreement by the government to relinquish control of the historic Russian Compound buildings in Jerusalem to Russian control. The offices of the Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel vacated the premises in 2011.