Netanyahu hails spirit of Arab peace initiative

Netanyahu hails spirit of Arab peace initiative

Jul. 23, 2009
HERB KEINON and GREER FAY CASHMAN , THE JERUSALEM POST

Three days before a parade of senior Obama administration officials is due here to talk about everything from construction in Gush Etzion to Iran's building of a nuclear bomb, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday expressed interest in the Arab Peace Initiative for the first time, but only if it is not a final, non-negotiable offer.

Speaking at a reception at the house of the Egyptian ambassador in Herzliya to mark Egypt's national day, Netanyahu said that Israel "valued efforts of Arab states to advance peace initiatives, and if these offers are not final offers, then I believe this spirit can create an atmosphere in which a comprehensive peace is possible."

Netanyahu said the spirit of reconciliation in this initiative was an important change from the spirit of Khartoum, the conference of 13 Arab leaders immediately after the Six Day War, at which the Arab world said no to peace, recognition or negotiations with Israel.

"We hope in the months ahead to forge peace with the Palestinians and to expand that into a vision of a broader regional peace," Netanyahu said.

The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, backed by all 22 members of the Arab League, calls for a complete Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines, including on the Golan Heights and in east Jerusalem, as well as a "just" solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, in return for normalization of relations.

Israel's position is that it is willing to negotiate with the Arab states regarding this initiative, but that it should not be seen as a-take-it-or-leave-it proposition.

Part of the current US diplomatic efforts aims to get Arab countries, specifically Saudi Arabia, to begin the normalization process with Israel now, and not wait until the end of the process.

US progress in getting the Arab states to make gestures now will be one of the topics of conversation when US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrives on Sunday for talks.

US State Department spokesman J. Crowley said Thursday that Mitchell was first heading to Syria, for his second visit there since taking up his post in January. Mitchell's point man on Syria and Lebanon, Fred Hof, was in both Israel and Syria earlier this month, fueling speculation that the Obama administration was keen on jump-starting Israeli-Syrian negotiations.

But Vice Premier and Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom, at a press conference with foreign journalists on Thursday, said that while Israel respected the US decision to engage in discussions with the Syrians, for there to be a "true dialogue" Syria needed to abandon its connections with Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas.

"When Syria does this, Israel will be happy to return to the negotiating table," he said.

Mitchell will be followed here next week by Defense Minister Robert Gates, scheduled to arrive Monday for some six hours of talks, expected to focus on the Iranian issue. Later next week US National Security Advisor James Jones, and Dennis Ross, recently appointed to a key position on the Middle East in the White House, are also expected.

At the ceremony at the Egyptian ambassador's residence, both Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres praised Cairo for its constructive role in the region, and especially the leadership of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who, Peres said, had a "strong voice for peace."

Netanyahu praised Mubarak for his "steadfast leadership," which he said was critical for maintaining stability and security in the region.

Messianic Judaism Part II~Barei Lev (Update Eben Abram)

Shalom ALecheim

I personally disagree with the post but given the baggage the person is carrying about the Church, I can no reason for discussion.

The disillusionment the person "felt" with Christianity is now obvious in his Messy Judeoism.
Jews for Jesus, Chosen People, Zola Levitt amoung others have no problem with being Jews who believe in Jesus and can say it with out shame.

Some of us are Jews, albeit Messianic Jews and have no issue with the Church and love what God has done in preparing a Bride for his Son.

Their are "sore thumbs" though out there who keep singing the same old song about if they had a hammer...

and they try to hammer in morning,
hammer in evening
Hammer out Law
Hammer out Grace
Hammer on the Church

They don't hammer out the Love between my brothers and sisters all over this land.

In fact they see elitism as a virtue and seclusion as a proper response to Being a Light.

In Jewish Terms, they are a new phrase......Messianic Pharasee's...

The Torah Observant Messianic Jews...are Messianic Sadduccee's ...

They need to repent, do over the love of God, Messiah , Y'shua, Jesus and the Chrurch, and get over hammering.

They are missing the head of the nail and only hitting their own thumbs and then whinning because no body is following them.

As a Jew, I dealt a lot with the early movements that went heretical and have never stopped warning, advising, praying, stating and frankly getting "face to face" for grace in those Jews and Gentiles who think Judaism is the answer and forget only Y'shua is.

That is, Jesus Christ ALL OUR LORD.

Alecheim Shalom

Eben Abram

Messianic Judaism Part II

I'm starting to have my doubts about Messianic Judaism as a denomination/religion/whatever it is. Don't get me wrong, I still agree with the beliefs, and I think it's great that there are Messianic synagogues, and I'd like to still go to them. But I don't think being a part of one of those synagogues, a part of Messianic Judaism, is enough.

Maybe what I really mean is that being a part of any denomination and only being involved with that denomination is not enough. Taken broader, mabye being part of a religion and only being involved with that religion is enough.

By separating itself as a denomination, Messianic Judaism isolates itself and its unique perspective. I talked in the first entry on this topic about how the language puts some people on the defensive. I mostly focused on the Jewish side of that, but I think it creates trouble for Christians, too. I know that I and several others I know viewed Messianic Judaism as completely separate from Christianity, even being offended at times by being called Christians or at least very adamant about our opinion that we aren't Christians. There are reasons for that attitude. For one, I think that some MJs want to do whatever they can to make themselves more acceptable to mainstream Judaism and so try to fully separate themselves from Christianity. Also, many see the differences between Christianity and Judaism as too problematic to ignore or reconcile, seeing Christianity as compromising and becoming paganized, leaving the Biblical faith behind.

I'll admit, the latter is why I still do not actually consider myself a Christian. It's strange...I don't actually have a problem with Christian practices. I don't consider them paganism. But I personally find a lot more depth and meaning and understanding in Jewish tradition, since I feel that it's closer to what Yeshua and his earliest followers would have known. It helps me to understand the Bible more, and when certain things (mostly communion and baptism) are practiced in a way that's different from how I understand them. Also, I'm not a Trinitarian, so I between that and the sacraments I usually feel like I don't fit into any church and so I don't try.

But that's so arrogant! None of us has a perfect understanding. I don't know how much of the Jewish traditions I've learned about and experienced were actually practiced by Yeshua and how much of it came about later. We have so much to learn from each other, and it seems like a really bad idea to cut off connections with other people who have a different perspective and who could help us to understand more. Just because I disagree with a group on some particular issues doesn't mean I can't join them and open up a conversation with them.

So I'm trying not to see myself as any specific denomination or religion. I intend to go to as many services of different types as I can, continue going to the ones where I feel at least mostly comfortable, and try to get some dialogue going. God's people shouldn't be divided like this, putting up walls to keep people out when God's trying to call them in. And we shouldn't be shutting ourselves out from people who could help us get closer to understanding and obeying him. We should be helping to repair the world and build connections between people, not making them worse.

I haven't worked out yet exactly what that looks like, for me or in general. I'm hoping to learn that from other people, too, talk to others about my ideas and see what they think would be a good way to go about it. I'm in a strange situation that's almost forcing me to choose a denomination, because I'm feeling like I might be called to be a pastor before, after, or during my PhD work. I'm not sure where jobs are in that without being ordained, and I'm fairly sure I can't get ordained except in these denominations. That makes me a little sad, even though I understand why it's set up that way. I'm still praying, though, not making any decisions about that yet and just trusting God to show me the way.

Why Study End-Times Prophecy?~Adam Pivec

Why Study End-Times Prophecy?

Many Christians today don’t feel the need to study what the Bible teaches about the end times since they know that, in the end, God wins. Yet, contrary to this popular view, there are many reasons to know the details. Here are 10.

• They’re part of God’s Word. It’s been estimated that up to a third of the Bible is prophecy. Over 300 detailed prophecies were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming. Many more await fulfillment at His second coming. If we’re truly students of God’s Word, then we’ll be students of the prophecies. As the apostle Paul told his young disciple Timothy: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

• They prove that the Bible is God’s Word. Only God could know minute details of what would happen to individuals, cities and nations thousands of years in advance. When people see the end-times prophecies being fulfilled, they’ll have solid reason to put their faith in the God of the Bible. Jesus spoke of the apologetic value of prophecy when He said, “Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe” (John 14:29).

• Jesus gave us signs of His second coming and commanded us to watch for their fulfillments. (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21)

• God promises a special blessing for those who study the end times: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3, see also 22:7).

• They prepare us for what’s coming. Contrary to the pretribulational rapture teaching, the prophecies reveal that Christians will have to go through a time of terrible persecution by the Antichrist (Matthew 24:21-22, Mark 13:19-20, Revelation 6:9-11, 7:14, 13:7-10 and 15, 14:12-13). Knowledge of this will help us prepare mentally and spiritually.

• They help protect us against spiritual deception. The Bible warns that false prophets will precede the coming of the Antichrist, and many professing Christians will follow them. End-times prophecies show us what to watch out for. (Matthew 24:24-26, Mark 13:21-22, 2 Thessalonians 2:3,Revelation 13:11-18)

• They increase our worship of God. Christians who see prophecies fulfilled before their eyes will marvel at His sovereignty over the nations and the power of His unseen hand.

• They give us strategy for ministry. Like the men of Issachar who understood the times and drew up their battle plans accordingly, Christians who have insight into the end times will have knowledge for spiritual battle (1 Chronicles 12:32).

• They give comfort, encouragement and hope. When the time of tribulation comes, those who see the prophecies will know they only to have to endure for a limited time.

• They stir us to evangelism, good works and holy living. Reflecting on the end times frees us from a careless, temporal perspective (Titus 2:11-13). Those who are alive during their fulfillment will have an increased urgency to share the gospel while there is still time.

U.S. Source: Strike on Iran Means 'End of Obama,' 20 Year War~Gil Ronen

U.S. Source: Strike on Iran Means 'End of Obama,' 20 Year War

by Gil Ronen

Follow Israel news on and .

(IsraelNN.com) A senior U.S. source told Asharq Al-Awsat that if there is a war against Iran, Barack Obama’s presidency “will be over” and so will the peace process in the Middle East. “An American war on Iran would mean entering a twenty-year battle with the Islamic world starting from Afghanistan and Iraq to Iran,” according to the major pan-Arabic newspaper’s reporter Huda Al Husseini.

“I understood from my source that Obama cannot launch a war against Iran until conditions stabilize,” Husseini wrote. “He cannot embark on a war without negotiating the issue.” Such a war would be “difficult and costly,” she noted, claiming that senior officers in the U.S. army oppose it, asking – “how can we not live with a nuclear Iran if we can live with a nuclear Pakistan, which is less stable than Iran?”

CIA Director Leon Panetta visited Israel two weeks ago and asked to see documents in Israel’s possession that confirm that Iran is producing a nuclear weapon, according to the report. Panetta requested that the Israelis “do not rush into anything.” This was reportedly followed by a similar request from Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will head to Israel along with George Mitchell, the special U.S. envoy to the Middle East, on July 27, for talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Al Husseini speculated that “one of them will talk about war and the other about peace.”

“There is no doubt,” she wrote, “that since the Iranian elections and the internal crisis that followed, (bearing in mind the possibility that this crisis might spill over beyond its borders), the US leadership and Israel, as well as Russia and Europe, will revise their policies towards Iran.”

Iran threat pushing Arabs closer to normalization with Israel~Akiva Eldar

Iran threat pushing Arabs closer to normalization with Israel
By Akiva Eldar
Tags: Barack Obama, Iran

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert's article in the Washington Post this month in which he assails U.S. President Barack Obama's campaign against the settlements made a lot of noise in Israel. Few noticed that the paper also published a piece by the crown prince of Bahrain.

In his op-ed, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa notes that peace is not a lightbulb easily switched on, but admits that the Arabs have made public-relations blunders. "An Israeli might be forgiven for thinking that every Muslim voice is raised in hatred," he writes, "because that is usually the only one he hears. Just as an Arab might be forgiven for thinking every Israeli wants the destruction of every Palestinian." Khalifa urges the Arabs to communicate directly with the Israelis and tell them their story.

If Olmert's defense of the settlements was grist for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mill, the Bahraini prince's call for normalization made Obama's weekend. The start of normalization between the nations is a key item on the president's agenda. It's the undertone intended to ease the creation of a blueprint for a final-status agreement.
Advertisement
Having learned the lesson of Annapolis, Washington has concluded that a senior American presence in the negotiating room is needed for talks to succeed. In the first stage, this presence will be a quiet observer, but if the gap between the sides turns out to be too big, the observer will become an active mediator. If all goes according to plan, by the end of the year the international Quartet of Mideast mediators will come out with a detailed road map for regional peace.

In his latest visits to the region, U.S. envoy George Mitchell became even more sure that the mistake of conducting negotiations while disregarding the situation on the ground must not be repeated. He has convinced his superiors to postpone the discussions on a settlement until things are calm and the political process has been protected, as far as possible, from surprises like attacks on Jews or settlements on Palestinian land.

It is Israel that has insisted that the road map's first stage - before solutions are discussed - must be the neutralization of these problems. Ariel Sharon was interested in security problems, while the Palestinians talked about the settlements. Israel cited the Palestinians' difficulty in dismantling "terrorist capabilities and infrastructure," in the language of the road map, as an excuse to put off freezing settlements and evacuating outposts. This chapter ended when Gen. Keith Dayton, responsible for training the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, began to praise the Palestinians at every turn for their efforts to impose order in every city and on every street the Israeli army restored to their control.

At the same time, semi-official envoys such as Thomas Pickering are trying to allay Hamas' fears. (Pickering's latest meeting with Mahmoud al-Zahar, under Swiss auspices, was not his first with the group's leaders in the recent past.) The quiet on the Gaza front - even though Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are ignoring Obama's demand to ease the siege - is not due to the summer heat.

Obama and his staff reject the criticism that they are excessively preoccupied with the settlements and are diverting attention from the key problems of borders, Jerusalem, refugees and security. In Washington's view, an Israeli suspension of unilateral acts and Arab moves toward normalization are essential stages in the political process. Obama believes that a visit to Saudi Arabia by an Israeli journalist will have a greater influence on Israeli public opinion than a visit to Israel by an American president.

But Arab princes are also subject to public opinion. In a meeting about six months ago in Oxford, with the participation of Israelis and Arabs, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, who was intelligence minister and his country's ambassador to the United States, asked how an Arab ruler would appear in the eyes of his public if he invited an Israeli leader to visit his country and the next day Al Jazeera reported the establishment of a new Israeli settlement. It goes without saying that from their point of view, as from the American point of view, there is no difference between the expansion of an illegal outpost in the West Bank and the construction of Jewish homes in East Jerusalem.

In fact, creating facts near the holy places is more serious. The Arab leaders' original interpretation of their initiative was that normalization would wait for Israel's withdrawal from the territories. Things changed after the priorities changed: The common Iranian threat pushed aside the common Israeli enemy.

Last month, in an article in The Wall Street Journal, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak promised Israelis to begin normalization measures along with the peace process. The article by the crown prince of Bahrain in The Washington Post is also the product of Obama's effort to enlist the moderate Arab states in a government-bypassing PR campaign to reach Israeli public opinion.

Like Obama, they did not believe that an Israeli leader who likens Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Hitler would declare war on the great American patron. Like Obama, they did not take into account that Israeli leaders' fear of the settlers is greater than all threats.