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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Isaiah 44 24. “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, 25. who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26. who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They...

Turkey says Syrian forces have shot down one of its air force jets. After a two-hour security meeting, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said the warplane that disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea Friday was shot down by Syria. The statement said the two pilots remain missing. The prime minister's office said Turkey will decide on how to respond to the incident but did not elaborate. Turkey has joined nations such as the U.S. in saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down because of the uprising in his country. Meanwhile, U.N. Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan told reporters...

The Al-Monitor has posted an article titled “Muslim Brotherhood Woos Palestinian Bloc in Jordan” that examines the efforts of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood to court Jordanians of Palestinian origin. The report begins: Sunday, Jun 17, 2012 For over a year, Jordanians of Palestinian origin refused to join the popular movement. However, their reluctance to join the movement is gradually declining as a result of the mutual escalation between the government and its bodies on one side, and the Muslim Brotherhood on the other. The majority of the Muslim Brotherhood members in Jordan have Palestinian origins. Observers and political analysts interviewed...

A Turkish military aircraft has crashed in Syria, according to media reports. A local witness has told RT Arabic that the plane crashed on Syrian territory and the two pilots were captured. ­The plane appears to have been shot down, the witness said. The craft went down as Syrian air defense opened fire, says Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV. Other unconfirmed reports suggest that Syria has shot at two Turkish fighter jets that entered Syrian airspace. One has crash-landed in Syria, and the pilots were captured, while the other jet managed to turn back to Turkey despite being damaged. Ankara declares it...

Lebanon's Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar television station said on Friday that Syrian air defenses shot down a Turkish military aircraft, quoting Syrian security sources. "Syrian security sources confirmed to a Manar correspondent in Damascus that Syrian defense forces shot down the Turkish fighter jet," a news flash on the Beirut-based station said. Pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen television station, which is based in Lebanon, also quoted what it said were Turkish sources as saying a jet had been shot down by Syrian air defenses. There was no confirmation of either report. Earlier, Turkey -- a member of NATO -- said it had lost contact with...

Iraqi Kurd Editor of Pro-Israel Magazine Missing - Abdel Hamid Zebari (AFP)   Mawlud Afand, the editor-in-chief of the Israel-Kurd Institute's magazine, has been missing since June 8, said Diyari Mohammed, a correspondent for the magazine in Sulaimaniyah, in the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. Afand's colleagues have raised the possibility he was kidnapped by Iranian intelligence.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Isaiah 44 21. “Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you. 22. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” 23. Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.

BEIRUT -- Russia is preparing to dispatch a pair of warships carrying a contingent of Black Sea Fleet marines to its logistics base in the Syrian port of Tartus, the Russian Interfax news agency reported Monday, in what appeared to be another sign of the deteriorating security situation in the strife-ridden nation. The report quoted an unidentified Russian naval source saying the amphibious ships Nikolay Filchenkov and Tsezar Kunikov, accompanied by the rescue tug SB-15, were “preparing for a non-routine departure” for Tartus, Russia’s only Mediterranean base.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Isaiah 44 9. All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. 10. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing? 11. People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame. 12. The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he...

The recent indecisive Greek elections could be summed up by two general themes: Greeks want to stay in, and expect help from, the eurozone. But they still do not want to take the necessary medicine to stop borrowing billions of euros from northern Europeans, who want a radical Greek reform of the tax code, deregulation of labor laws, fiscal discipline, massive cuts in bureaucracy, and greater transparency -- all unlikely given Greek history and contemporary culture. So what lies in the future for Greece as it is slowly eased out of the euro zone and its civilization goes into reverse?...

It looks like Israel is going to be the next Switzerland — at least as far as the Department of Justice’s investigation into offshore tax avoidance is concerned. On June 14, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against three American tax preparers for helping clients avoid taxes by moving money to Israel. The transgressions detailed in the indictment were relatively small-time. The indictment said the father and son duo of David and Nadav Kalai and their colleague David Almog at a firm called United Revenue Service helped several clients duck taxes by moving money to two Israeli banks, identified...

Hamas’ military wing said on Wednesday that it had agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel, AFP reported. “In response to the Egyptian efforts to try and stop the aggression on our people, we at Al-Qassam Brigades and all resistance factions declare our commitment to stop this round of confrontation, as long as (Israel) commits to stopping its crimes,” said a statement from Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. The statement noted that terrorists had fired 96 rockets and nine mortars at Israel during the recent wave of violence. “Our confrontation with the enemy in this round was at the minimal level of...

Friends, As of this writing world powers are meeting in Moscow with Iran's nuclear negotiators.  Most observers have given up on any real agreement or breakthrough coming through negotiation with Iran.  While nobody knows the outcome of this or any future talks, reports today say Russia and China, two of the world powers negotiating by the U.S side., are planning the largest ever war games with Iran and Syria.  This is a frightening development for Israel and to anyone paying attention to the diplomatic cushion Russia and China have provided the leaders of both Syria and Iran in their...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Isaiah 44 6. “This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. 7. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come. 8. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my...

Israel recalls Eichmann's grilling, 50 years after infamous execution. Jun 1, 2012 – Israeli recalls Eichmann's grilling, 50 years after infamous execution ... of the Holocaust's main architects, Adolf Eichmann on May 31, 1962.

There is, unfortunately, very little Israel can do to remedy the chaotic situation in the peninsula. Photo: Reuters/ BAZ RATNER The attack Monday morning along our border with Egypt near Kadesh Barnea that left one Defense Ministry construction worker and at least two terrorists dead is yet another reminder of the lawlessness that has become the status quo in the Sinai Peninsula. Just this weekend a terrorist cell operating in Sinai fired two Grad rockets that hit near Ovda and Mitzpe Ramon. The recent conflagrations coincide with the second round of Egypt’s presidential elections. But attacks emanating from Sinai directed...

CBS reports that when Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met with the press after their long private discussion, "The two men barely looked at each other. You could just feel, sort of, the tension between them. And the body language really represented how far apart the two leaders remain on the issue of Syria."

41 Rockets Slam into South, IAF Strikes Kill Six Terrorists killed Monday were an Egyptian and a Saudi, who dedicated attack to Osama Bin Laden. By Gil Ronen First Publish: 6/19/2012, 6:36 PM (Flash 90)Forty-one terrorist rockets slammed into southern Israel between midnight and 8:30 p.m. Monday. The IAF has carried out three strikes on terror targets in Gaza in the last 24 hours, killing at least six terrorists. An IAF strike Tuesday afternoon severely injured a man who was on a motorcycle, Gaza sources said. Hamas has taken responsibility for the rocket fire at the Negev. It said it...

The United States and Israel jointly developed a sophisticated computer virus nicknamed Flame that collected critical intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage attacks aimed at slowing Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials with knowledge of the effort. The massive piece of malware was designed to secretly map Iran’s computer networks and monitor the computers of Iranian officials, sending back a steady stream of intelligence used to enable an ongoing cyberwarfare campaign, according to the officials. The effort, involving the National Security Agency, the CIA and Israel’s military, has included the use of destructive software such as...

Citing Israel's "apartheid state," Alice Walker, who wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Color of Purple' reaffirms support of BDS movement. Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, refused to authorize a Hebrew translation of her prize-winning work, citing what she called Israel’s “apartheid state.” In a June 9 letter to Yediot Books, Walker said she would not allow the publication of the book into Hebrew because “Israel is guilty of apartheid and persecution of the Palestinian people, both inside Israel and also in the Occupied Territories.” In her letter, posted Sunday by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of...