Rohani Thanks Islam’s Messiah for Win
Rohani Thanks Islam’s Messiah for Win
Call for Moderation Blurs Record of Deceit
“For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)
Iran's president elect, Hassan Rohani, recently gave thanks to Islam's expected messiah—the Mahdi (Guided One)—for his win in last month’s elections.
"This political [election] was due to the kindness of the last Islamic messiah [Mahdi]," Rohani said. "I am so happy that there is a feeling of joy in our society and that the election took place in the month of Shaban, which is the month of victory." (wnd)
Shiite Muslims believe the Mahdi will come to conquer the world for Islam by killing all non-believers. Muslims also believe the Yeshua (Jesus) will return to help the Mahdi in this bid to establish Islamic-style righteousness.
Hassan Rohani addresses Iranians as the Iranian press documents
the moment.
Rohani's reference to the Mahdi's involvement in his win raises a question about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the nonviolence the international community expects from Rohani due to his apparent calls for moderation.
Rohani paired his messianic praise with thanks to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for taking "measures" to enable Rohani's win, "especially, his guidance and words.” (wnd)
"Without his management then it was not clear if the people of Iran would witness such a day filled with joy,” he said.
While a number of media reports have hinted their relief because of Rohani’s reformist message, Rohani has been deeply involved in Iran's political circles as Ayatollah's representative to the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to the present.
As a long-time player in Iran's military and security matters, Rohani has shown his loyalty to the Iranian regime when he participated in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and effectively got rid of the political opposition of the time.
Hassan Rohani
Rohani also has a record of deceit, such as his 2003 agreement to stop Iran's nuclear program, which is still active and pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.
“We had an agreement for the suspension of enrichment, but we were importing all the necessary parts for our nuclear activity,” said Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Iran's former spokesperson and government secretary. (WashingtonTimes)
"We were conducting our policies on two fronts: one to continue negotiations openly and keep the Americans away from such negotiations, and the other to continue our nuclear activities in secret," he said.
"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14)
Greek Orthodox priest Gabriel Nadaf recently came under fire for
supporting the enlistment of Arab youth in the Israel Defense Forces.
Israeli Arab Integration through National Service Increases
Serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is controversial for Israel's Arab community. While some Arabs are vocally against integrating in this manner, others have confirmed their Israeli identities through participation in the IDF.
One Christian leader, Father Gabriel Nadaf, is wholeheartedly supporting these efforts.
Recently, this Greek Orthodox Church priest in Nazareth came under pressure from the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Arab members of parliament (MK) and Palestinian leaders for his open support of Christian-Arab enlistment.
“We feel secure in the state of Israel, and we see ourselves as citizens of the state with all the attendant rights as well as obligations,” Nadaf said. (Commentary)
When Nadaf made his opinion known at a conference two weeks ago, several Arab MKs demanded that he be disciplined. MK Basel Ghattas (Balad party) told the Jerusalem Post that he had insisted that Nadaf be fired if he did not stop promoting IDF service among the Arabs.
Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III, came short of
firing Nadaf, asking him to lower his profile.
In light of the criticism against Nadaf, Israel's Deputy Defense Minister, Danny Danon issued a message of support and protection for people who take part in Israeli society. (The Algemeiner)
According to an official statement, Danon is seeking to create a department in the Defense Ministry that will take "a determined stance to counter anyone who incites against and threatens those who want to integrate" and protect Arab youth who enlist.
According to Israel Today, "a record number of Israeli Arabs are volunteering for national service," even while Israel has struggled to get ultra-Orthodox Jews to participate in the army.
Three thousand Arabs have entered national service since the beginning of the year, an increase of 76 percent from 2012.
“Those who want to serve the country must know that the state will have their backs and protect them,” Danon said. (Israel Hayom)
A Jewish Israeli soldier recites morning prayers facing Jerusalem.
"When they pray to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the Temple I have built for your Name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause." (I Kings 8:44–45)
As Kerry Talks Peace, Jordan Threatens Intifada
United States Secretary of State John Kerry shuttled back and forth last week between the talking tables of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Although he left Israel on Sunday with the peace process still in deadlock, he was, nevertheless, hopeful.
“I am pleased to tell you that we have made real progress on the trip, and I believe that with a little more work, the start of final-status negotiations could be within reach,” Kerry said at a brief news conference at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. (Washington Post)
Jordan's King Abdullah
A day before the attempt to renew direct talks between the two parties, Jordan's King Abdullah warned that Israel must accept PA demands. (Jewish Press)
A "stalemate in peace efforts would cause an explosion in Palestinian-Israeli ties in sort of Arab Spring-like protests, taking the form of either a new intifada or a cycle of violence and counter-violence,” Abdullah stated Wednesday to London-based daily Asharq Alawasat.
Other reports claim, however, that Abbas has no intention of negotiating peace with Israel and is only going through the motions.
"If Abbas renews talks only to call them off several weeks later, then blames Israel for torpedoing the talks and asks the U.N. to recognize the 1967 borders, this would surprise no one," a senior Israeli official told Israel HaYom.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of
State John Kerry on June 30, 2013.
Also, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has said that his side will not budge on the demand for a two-state solution based on the so-called 1967 borders, which have been shown to be indefensible and unrealistic for the Jewish state.
Netanyahu told a Georgian group last Tuesday that Israel's approach is to find "an agreement that resolves the fundamental issues in the conflict."
"Our fervent hope is for peace, a genuine peace that can be achieved only through direct negotiations without preconditions. We're ready to enter such negotiations," he said.
On Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated that message at Israel’s weekly cabinet meeting, “Israel is ready to begin negotiations without delay, without preconditions. We are not putting up any impediments.” (jta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets US Secretary of State
John Kerry as he arrives for a meeting in Jerusalem on June 28, 2013.
One in Two European Jews Consider Emigration
“He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:12)
Less than 80 years after the Holocaust killed six million Jewish people and a couple million others with state-sponsored approval, safety and security once again seems illusory to Jews living in Europe.
As anti-Semitism deepens in Europe, 40 to 50 percent of Jews living in Hungary, France and Belgium are considering emigration.
Although government-sponsored anti-Semitism is not a present reality in Europe, one in four European Jews have been subjected to anti-Semitism in the past year, and almost 35 percent dealt specifically with anti-Semitic harassment, according to two new reports by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency. (Israel HaYom)
In addition, five percent of responders to the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency survey faced deliberate vandalism of their property for being Jewish, and seven percent were threatened or physically attacked in the last five years.
"Populist and far-right parties have emerged as the third-strongest—sometimes second—political actors in several countries, and anti-Semitic discourse spreads accordingly," states the "European Jewry—Signals and Noise" report, organized by the JPPI.
An Orthodox Jewish man in Marseille, France
The report also notes that Muslim elements in countries such as France and Sweden have fed anti-Semitism, their actions rationalized by observers to be an appropriate response to the existence of the State of Israel or to tense relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
France serves as a case example, having approximately eight million Muslims and a rise in violent anti-Semitic attacks by 58 percent in 2012.
Last year, almost 300 Jewish families emigrated from France to Montreal and 120 families to London. (American Thinker)
Although over 1,650 French Jews made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel in 2012 (Jewish Virtual Library), anti-Semitism may actually cause today's Jewish youth to distance themselves from Israel.
“Today in the free world, anti-Semitism does not encourage aliyah,” Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky told the Jerusalem Post.
Muslims in Europe, however, cannot be considered singularly responsible for the rise in anti-Semitism. European liberalism is also a general factor in increasing anti-Semitism. In addition, secular-minded European communities generally find religion of any type a threat. (American Thinker)
French Orthodox Jewish man at Grand Synagogue of Marseille
New Israeli IDs to Feature Faces and Fingerprints
“They could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.” (Revelation 13:17)
Israeli residents will begin to face the consequences of the 2009 Biometric Database Law requiring the collection of fingerprints and facial identity markers, to be imprinted on upgraded ID cards.
An appeal by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) to the High Court of Justice, as well as disagreements between the Finance Ministry and the Population and Immigration Authority, were among the causes for the delay of the database.
After these obstacles were resolved, the Interior Ministry was able to begin its plan. (Arutz Sheva)
New olim (someone who makes aliyah) proudly display their new
identity cards (Teudat Zehut) in Jerusalem at the Western (Wailing) Wall.
The folded blue ID cards currently in use will be upgraded in the coming weeks as the Interior Ministry begins to roll out its national biometric database, which has not gained the confidence of all Israelis.
"The police could use this information in all kinds of ways to avoid their constitutional responsibilities of due process—and then you have all the issues of security [breaches] by external entities," said Marc Grey, spokesman for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
"You could be asked for a thumbprint or an iris scan just to rent an apartment or see a doctor. This could lead to many vulnerable copies of that linked data that could wind up in the hands of identity thieves," the Electronic Frontier Foundation states.
"And any data compromises would be catastrophic; unlike a credit card or even a social security number, your biometric data can’t be revoked or re-issued."
The Ministry will employ a two-year trial run of the biometrics database to see if it is worth continuing or making permanent. During that time, residents can choose between participating and opting out of the database.
Despite concerns that the database would infringe on privacy, the convenience of a biometric database may motivate some to participate in the program.
Some claim the database would speed up aspects of international travel, such as pre-flight processing.
When it comes to accepting biometrics, internationally, convenience may indeed be a major factor.
In England, a survey of almost 2,000 shoppers showed almost half preferring to pay for groceries via fingerprint or iris scanners.
Convenience was as important to some as security was to others, according to card services firm WorldPay, which requested the survey. (Mail Online)
Collecting the image of the iris for India's biometric database.
India has already launched such a program under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)—which aims to tie a unique ID number for all residents of India to biometric information such as fingerprints, iris scans and facial recognition.
Such biometric identification technologies, while convenient, may be the herald of an end-time cashless society coupled with global monitoring capabilities. As an end-time pre-cursor, the mark of the beast prophesied in the Book of Revelation would become a fixture of this new system.
Of course, the convenience of a cashless society could easily be threatened by an international crash of the Internet, making buying and selling incredibly difficult.
"If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.” (Revelation 14:9–10)