JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Bipartisan group of senators call for repealing UN resolution on Israel-Sens. Schumer, Cardin and Rubio co-sponsor measure demanding US ensure no action is taken at Paris peace summit; GOP rep. moves to eliminate two-state support-By Eric Cortellessa January 5, 2017, 1:43 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan coalition of US senators introduced a measure Wednesday that seeks to repeal the United Nations Security Council resolution passed last month that labels Israeli settlements illegal and calls for a complete halt to all construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Obama administration had refused to veto the resolution, allowing it to pass in a move that infuriated Israel and divided American Jews.Co-sponsored by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D), Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin (D) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R), the Senate resolution condemns the UN motion as “anti-Israel,” calling for it to be “repealed or fundamentally altered” to no longer be “one-sided.”The proposal also calls for the US to reject efforts made by outside parties to impose a solution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and demands the US ensure no action is taken at the upcoming Paris peace conference, set for January 15.Expressing support for a two-state outcome, the text declared that any final-status resolution to the conflict needs to settled through direct negotiations between the parties.The United Nations was not an appropriate venue for making progress on the issue, said Senate Minority Leader Schumer, one of the most prominent Jewish members of Congress and a fierce Israel supporter.“Since the days of ‘Zionism is racism,’ the UN has been a fervently anti-Israel body and, unfortunately, that bias has never diminished,” he said in a statement. “Knowing this, past administrations — both Democrat and Republican — have protected Israel from the vagaries of this biased institution.”“Unfortunately, by abstaining on United Nations Resolutions 2334, this administration has not followed in that path.” he added. “This Senate resolution reaffirms that peace must come through direct negotiations in order to achieve a sustainable two-state solution.”Schumer’s Republican colleague Rubio echoed a similar sentiment.“Efforts to delegitimize Israel have been underway a long time at the United Nations and have now sadly been aided by the outgoing administration,” he said. “But the time has come to turn back the tide and renew America’s commitment to the Jewish state,”UNSC Resolution 2443 was passed by a vote of 14-0 following a US abstention on December 23, a decision that effectively allowed the motion through. The text calls for a complete end to all construction in areas Israel gained after the 1967 Six Day War, territory that includes the Old City, with the Temple Mount and Western Wall.It also calls on all states “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.”Israel fears such language will lead to an uptick in boycott and sanctions efforts, and Israeli officials have warned it will provide a tailwind for terror.Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced criticism that the resolution impedes an already stalled peace process.The resolution, he said, is “a one-sided text that makes direct negotiations for a two-state solution more challenging.”“Going forward,” he added, “Congress will take action against efforts at the UN, or beyond, that use Resolution 2334 to target Israel. I hope that in 2017, we can look at policies and actions that facilitate resumption of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and I stand ready to support productive efforts.”Nineteen other senators have already signed on to support the resolution, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), Arizona John McCain (R), Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D), Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D), Delaware Sen. Chris Coons (D), Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R), Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R).A House vote on a similar resolution is due for a vote on Thursday and is expected to pass.Iowa Rep. Steve King also offered a separate amendment to the resolution Wednesday that would remove all references to a two-state solution.King, originally a Ted Cruz backer in the presidential election until he put his name behind Trump, has long been an opponent of the two-state framework endorsed by multiple US presidents.He was a vocal supporter of the GOP removing that position from its party platform this summer. In July, he told The Times of Israel: “A two-state solution would only be a new place to build up more arms to fire more rockets into Israel proper. So I don’t think they should concede the land Israelis have fought over.”King’s amendment is unlikely to be embraced by the Democratic members backing the resolution who argue the two-state solution is the only solution to the conflict.
More Americans support UN resolution on Israel than oppose it — poll-While 35% of respondents back the anti-settlements Security Council resolution and 28% reject it, a plurality of 36% holds no opinion either way-By Eric Cortellessa January 4, 2017, 10:04 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — More Americans support last month’s United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements than those who oppose it, while a plurality of respondents hold no viewpoint on the matter, according to new polling.A national tracking poll conducted by Politico and Morning Consult recently found that 35% of US voters back UNSC Resolution 2334 — which declares all settlement construction to be in violation of international law — while 28% said they opposed the measure.The US abstaining on that vote was seen as a sharp policy shift by Washington, which has historically shielded Israel from similar resolutions dealing with settlements by wielding its veto.Asked their feelings on the UN motion, 14% of voters said they “strongly supported”; 21% said they “somewhat supported”; 11% said they “strongly opposed”; 17% said they “somewhat opposed”; and 36% said don’t have an opinion or didn’t know.On a separate question, voters were asked what they think of settlements in more abstract terms.Given three options of which statements came closest to their views, 28% of respondents said they thought settlement construction in the West Bank and Gaza enhanced Israel’s security and that, because a Palestinian state has not previously existed, such building on disputed territory did not deny Palestinians any rights.The question included Gaza, despite the fact that Israel evacuated its settlements and soldiers from the Palestinian enclave in 2005.Likewise, 28% said that such settlement communities do “violate international laws and the rights of Palestinians,” and pose an obstacle to establishing a peace deal between the sides.A plurality of 44% of respondents, however, said they held no opinion on the issue or didn’t know.The survey also asked about their level of engagement with the recent UN resolution — how much had they “seen, read or heard” about it.According to the polling: 19% said they encountered the measure “a lot”; 38% said “some”; 24% said “not much”; and 19% said “not at all.”The poll, conducted from December 28 to December 29, sampled 2,000 registered voters. It’s margin of error was +/- 2%.UNSC Resolution 2443 was passed by a vote of 14-0 following a US abstention on December 23, a decision that effectively allowed the motion through. The text calls for a complete end to all construction in areas Israel gained after the 1967 Six Day War, territory that includes the Old City, with the Temple Mount and Western Wall.It also calls on all states “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.”Israel fears such language will lead to an uptick in boycott and sanctions efforts, and Israeli officials have warned it will provide “a tailwind for terror.”The measure was met with furious condemnations from Jerusalem, with politicians issuing scathing criticisms of the countries that pushed for and supported the measure, as well as the Obama administration for withholding its veto power.
67% of Israelis want pardon for IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter-New survey shows most Israelis against conviction of Sgt. Elor Azaria, filmed killing a wounded Palestinian attacker-By Times of Israel staff January 5, 2017, 1:10 am
A sizable majority of Israelis support the pardoning of an IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron last year, a poll conducted on Wednesday found.According to the flash survey commissioned by Channel 2, some 67 percent of Israelis said they supported clemency for Sgt. Elor Azaria, while 19% said he shouldn’t be pardoned.A military tribunal in Tel Aviv convicted Azaria, 19, for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian, who minutes before had stabbed two other soldiers. The decision, which his attorneys slammed as biased, concluded a months-long trial that deeply divided the country.The results showed that 51% of respondents opposed Wednesday’s manslaughter verdict, while 36% said they backed it.Moreover, 52% of poll participants said they disagreed with comments by IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot seeming to dismiss the idea that Azaria should be protected from prosecution as he is ‘everyone’s child.’“An 18-year-old man serving in the army is not ‘everyone’s child.’ He is a fighter, a soldier, who must dedicate his life to carry out the tasks we give him. We cannot be confused about this,” Eisenkot said Tuesday.Some 38% said they agreed with Eisenkot’s remarks.The poll was conducted on Wednesday by Machon Midgam and the iPanel survey platforms. The report did not reveal how the poll was conducted or how many people were contacted.Azaria’s trial saw politicians and current and former army generals alternately supporting or condemning the soldier’s actions. Many of the army’s top brass, as well as former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, had railed against Azaria’s “unethical” decision to shoot the assailant, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, in the head nearly 15 minutes after the latter was shot and wounded as he attempted to stab an IDF soldier in Hebron.Azaria was filmed shooting Sharif on March 24, 2016. The footage, which was published online shortly after the incident by the left-wing advocacy group B’Tselem, sparked an intense debate in Israel about military discipline and ethics in the midst of a wave of Palestinian terror attacks that began in September 2015.In the face of strong condemnation of Azaria’s actions by top military brass, including Eisenkot and Ya’alon, far-right supporters and some politicians have accused the defense establishment of abandoning one of its own.Following the verdict, politicians from across the political spectrum called for Azaria to be pardoned.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz and opposition lawmaker Shelly Yachimovich were among those appealing for clemency for the soldier.Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
Netanyahu backs pardon for soldier convicted of killing wounded stabber-‘This is a hard and painful day,’ PM says, joining other senior lawmakers calling for Elor Azaria to be let off after manslaughter conviction-By Raoul Wootliff January 4, 2017, 9:01 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening said he backs calls to pardon an IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant, and described the conclusion of the months-long trial as “a hard and painful day.”The Jaffa Military court earlier Wednesday convicted Sgt. Elor Azaria, 19, for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian who minutes before had stabbed two other soldiers.The trial deeply divided the country, with politicians and current and former army generals alternately supporting or condemning Azaria’s actions.Politicians from across the political spectrum responded to the verdict by calling for a presidential pardon to prevent Azaria serving jail time.Writing on Facebook Wednesday night, Netanyahu gave his backing to the calls for clemency, saying that he supported granting Azaria a pardon.“This is a hard and painful day for us all — first and foremost for Elor and his family, for IDF soldiers, for many citizens, and for the parents of our soldiers, myself included,” the prime minister wrote.“I urge all citizens to act responsibly toward the IDF, the officers, and the IDF chief… IDF soldiers are our sons and daughters, and they must remain above all conflict. I support pardoning Elor Azaria,” he wrote.Earlier, Culture Minister Miri Regev (Likud) called for a pardon for Azaria and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the right-wing Jewish Home party, reiterated the call he had made the previous day, saying Azaria must be pardoned “immediately, right now.”Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) also publicly called for Azaria to be pardoned. In a surprise development, coalition ministers were joined in their call by Zionist Union’s Shelly Yachimovich, former head of the Labour Party.Likud MK Yehudah Glick, meanwhile, called for clemency, but not a full pardon, for Azaria.Responding to the calls, President Reuven Rivlin’s office said that defendants, rather than politicians, must apply for clemency and that requests will only be dealt with after all legal proceedings have ended.“In accordance with standard practice regarding requests for pardons on this or any case, requests for pardons are dealt with when submitted by the applicant themselves, or by one with power of attorney, or an immediate relative, following a conclusive judicial ruling,” the statement read.“In light of the foregoing, and in relation to the case of the soldier Elor Azaria, in the event that a pardon should be requested, it will be considered by the president in accordance with standard practices and after recommendations from the relevant authorities.”The statement suggested Rivlin will not make any decision until after sentencing, giving him the option to commute the sentence rather than overturn it entirely.Azaria’s sentencing will take place in just over a week, on January 15, according to the IDF. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, though analysts expect him to receive less than that.His defense team said immediately after the verdict that it will appeal.Many of the army’s top brass, as well as former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, had railed against Azaria’s “unethical” decision to shoot the assailant, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, in the head nearly 15 minutes after the latter was shot and wounded as he attempted to stab an IDF soldier in Hebron.Azaria was filmed shooting Sharif on March 24, 2016. The footage, which was published online shortly after the incident by the left-wing advocacy group B’Tselem, sparked an intense debate in Israel about military discipline and ethics in the midst of a wave of Palestinian terror attacks that began in September 2015.Responding to the conviction, Ya’alon accused politicians of “cynically exploiting” the Azaria case to score political points, hurting the soldier and his family in the process.“Today, with the conviction, we can say that the IDF and the Azaria family were seriously harmed by politicians who have betrayed their office,” the former defense minister said. “The criminal process that the soldier Elor and his family have experienced has been too difficult to bear and should have looked differently, should have been managed differently. The reason for its dragging out in a way that made it difficult for everyone involved is the cynical exploitation of the case by interested politicians for their own personal gain.”“Rather than being leaders, they used Elor and his family as a political pawn for a few more seats. They lied to you. I am ashamed of those politicians,” Ya’alon added.
Palestinian UN worker sentenced to 7 months for aiding Hamas-Waheed Borsh convicted of diverting materials to build jetty, aiding Gaza terror group; likely to be released next week under plea deal-By AFP and Times of Israel staff January 4, 2017, 7:40 pm
A Palestinian UN worker accused by Israel of aiding the Hamas terrorist group was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Wednesday, his lawyer said, in a plea deal that will see him released soon.Waheed Borsh was convicted of “rendering services to an illegal organization without intention,” his lawyer Lea Tsemel told AFP. With time already served, he is expected to be released on January 12.The case centered on accusations that rubble in Gaza under the responsibility of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was misused by the terrorist group Hamas that controls the enclave.The engineer from Jabaliya in northern Gaza, who worked for the UNDP, was arrested on July 16.According to the Shin Bet security service, Borsh was recruited by a Hamas member to “redirect his work for UNDP to serve Hamas’s military interests.”During his interrogation, Borsh told investigators that in 2014, he was directed by Hamas to “focus on his work in the UNDP in a way that would allow Hamas to extract the greatest possible benefit from him,” the Shin Bet said at the time.The UNDP has operated in the West Bank and Gaza since the late 1970s. In recent years, its Gaza branch has focused on rebuilding the homes and businesses destroyed in the conflicts between Israel and Hamas.In August, Borsh was charged with diverting 300 tons of rubble from a UNDP project in the Gaza Strip, run by Hamas, to build a jetty for the Islamist movement’s naval force.After reviewing the charge sheet, the UNDP challenged Israel’s allegations and said Borsh diverted the rubble under instructions from the Palestinian Authority.Tsemel stressed that her client had been convicted only of unintentionally aiding Hamas by “moving some rubble.”“The prosecution claimed that he should have checked better as this could have helped Hamas.”The UNDP said it had “zero tolerance for wrongdoing”, but that the case did not prove deliberate intent.“This outcome confirms that there was no wrongdoing by UNDP,” the body said in a statement.UN officials argued that Borsh, as a UN employee, may qualify for immunity from prosecution and requested that they be allowed to visit him in jail.Israel however, rejected the UN request, saying “whoever assists a terror organization cannot hide behind a claim of immunity.”In addition to Borsh, Israel has accused two other Palestinians of infiltrating international aid organizations on behalf of Hamas.In August, an Israeli court charged Muhammad Halabi with channeling millions of dollars in foreign aid to Hamas and its armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Halabi, who worked for the Christian organization World Vision, was arrested in June and later indicted on a number of charges, including funding terror. The charge sheet said he was recruited by Hamas to infiltrate the aid organization more than a decade ago, rising to become the head of the organization’s Gaza operations.According to the Shin Bet, Halabi also recruited a Palestinian aid worker from the Britain-based Save the Children to join the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in 2014.The governments of Britain, Germany and Australia suspended their donations to the charity over Halabi’s alleged links to Hamas.Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, said at the time the cases were evidence of a “troubling trend of the systematic exploitation by Hamas.”AFP visited the site of the alleged UNDP misuse last summer and found a new-looking jetty extending around 50 metres (yards) into the sea.Perhaps 10 feet (three yards) wide, it had wooden slats erected on one side to obscure the view.Armed Hamas fighters were in nearby fields.UNDP officials privately accepted that rubble from one of its projects may have been used in the construction of the jetty.But they stressed the disposal occurred in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Works, which is run by Hamas’s rivals Fatah.Fatah leads the internationally recognized Palestinian government, and a UNDP probe concluded that there were no signs of Hamas activity in the area at the time the rubble was placed there.
Campaign rhetoric, post-election hate crimes draw Jewish historians into fray-Since Election Day, scholars and curators of Jewish history have consistently issued one message: Watch out-By Ben Sales January 5, 2017, 3:15 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
NEW YORK — In the two months since the presidential election, American scholars and curators of Jewish history have sent a consistent message: Watch out.“Our history reminds us of the dangers of racism and bigotry,” The Center for Jewish History warned last week. In a November statement, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum said the “Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words.” That same month, an open letter from more than 200 American Jewish historians suggested that it “is not too soon to begin mobilizing in solidarity.”The statements are rare acts of speaking out, their authors and signers say. Academics and historical institutions generally try to stay above the political fray in their professional lives, focusing more on interpreting what once happened, not what’s happening now.But a presidential campaign featuring the ethnically charged rhetoric of Donald Trump and many of his followers, and an election aftermath that saw a rise in hate crimes and invective targeting Jews and other minorities, convinced the institutions to raise their voices.“This was really a watershed moment for me,” said Hasia Diner, director of New York University’s Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History, who helped organize the historians’ open letter. “It made me realize that in fact, as historians, no one is saying x, y or z is going to happen, but we had and have a responsibility to just wave the flag a bit.”The letter, which was published in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles one week after the election, was explicit in blaming Trump for fanning the flames of bigotry toward “Muslims, Latinos, women, and others.” It noted how the American Jewish community has flourished since World War II and called on American Jews, mindful of their own past persecution, to stand up against anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred.“Our reading of the past impels us to resist any attempts to place a vulnerable group in the crosshairs of nativist racism,” the letter read. “It is our duty to come to their aid and to resist the degradation of rights that Mr. Trump’s rhetoric has provoked.”Throughout the presidential campaign and since the election, Jewish groups have split on how best to condemn anti-Semitism and how explicitly, if at all, to link it to the president-elect’s rhetoric. Some, like the Anti-Defamation League, have not been shy about criticizing Trump on issues like his call for a national registry of Muslims and a campaign ad it said used tropes that historically were used against Jews.Others, like the Jewish Federations of North America, have reached out to Trump and offered their assistance and counsel without issuing critical statements.Unlike the historians’ letter, the statements from the historical institutions avoided naming Trump or taking a political stance. But they also invoked the long history of Jewish persecution in urging Jews to stand up against bigotry.“When the Jews faced annihilation in Europe, we remember that the campaign mounted against us began with hateful words,” read the Dec. 28 statement by Joel Levy, president of the Center for Jewish History. “We must unequivocally protest acts of violence or discrimination motivated by ethnicity, religion, or sexual identity.”A version of Levy’s statement was issued initially a year ago with slightly different language. That statement, condemning “the toxic virus of Islamophobia” and specifically noting that Jews were once excluded from entry to the United States, came shortly after Trump first proposed a ban on Muslim immigration to the country.The updated statement condemns hate crimes “targeting Jews, Muslims, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other minority groups.”But Levy told JTA that the center was nonpartisan.“There are hateful voices from many quarters,” he told JTA. “I do not think this a political statement commenting on particular policies of the president-elect. Both statements are about core American Jewish values, and restating them and calling attention to them.”The Holocaust museum often comments publicly on preventing genocide and opposing bigotry internationally, but its Nov. 22 statement was a rarity, commenting on a white nationalist rally that took place at a building just blocks from the museum. Noting the use of Nazi terms by speakers, the statement invoked Holocaust history and “call[ed] on all American citizens, our religious and civic leaders, and the leadership of all branches of the government to confront racist thinking and divisive hateful speech.”Tad Stahnke, director of the museum’s Initiative on Holocaust Denial and Antisemitism, said the rally’s proximity and content spurred the statement, but that it was not meant as a comment on broader trends.“This is something happening just a few blocks from our museum here in Washington, where you have this combination of anti-Semitic racist rhetoric and invocation of Nazi slogans,” Stahnke said, referring to chants of “Hail Trump!” by rally-goers. “That merited a clear statement of condemnation.”Not everyone believes historians should be commenting on current events, and Trump’s campaign repeatedly denied that his campaign was in any way bigoted or that he was responsible for the white nationalists who endorsed him.Responding to the historians’ letter in the Jewish Journal, Allan Nadler, professor of religious studies and director of the Jewish studies program at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, wrote, “So inappropriate. What ever happened to scholarly objectivity, and never foreshadowing history? These historians are violating both principles.”Levy and Diner both said they weren’t sure how they would react if currents of hate become stronger. And Diner said that no matter what impact the statements have, they allow historians to take their part in a current debate.“These can be symbolic acts, but symbols are terribly important,” she said. “And if the vast majority of scholars of the Jewish past have said ‘Wait a minute, just keep your eyes open because this could be a disaster,’ it behooves the public to pay attention.”
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Bipartisan group of senators call for repealing UN resolution on Israel-Sens. Schumer, Cardin and Rubio co-sponsor measure demanding US ensure no action is taken at Paris peace summit; GOP rep. moves to eliminate two-state support-By Eric Cortellessa January 5, 2017, 1:43 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan coalition of US senators introduced a measure Wednesday that seeks to repeal the United Nations Security Council resolution passed last month that labels Israeli settlements illegal and calls for a complete halt to all construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Obama administration had refused to veto the resolution, allowing it to pass in a move that infuriated Israel and divided American Jews.Co-sponsored by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D), Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin (D) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R), the Senate resolution condemns the UN motion as “anti-Israel,” calling for it to be “repealed or fundamentally altered” to no longer be “one-sided.”The proposal also calls for the US to reject efforts made by outside parties to impose a solution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and demands the US ensure no action is taken at the upcoming Paris peace conference, set for January 15.Expressing support for a two-state outcome, the text declared that any final-status resolution to the conflict needs to settled through direct negotiations between the parties.The United Nations was not an appropriate venue for making progress on the issue, said Senate Minority Leader Schumer, one of the most prominent Jewish members of Congress and a fierce Israel supporter.“Since the days of ‘Zionism is racism,’ the UN has been a fervently anti-Israel body and, unfortunately, that bias has never diminished,” he said in a statement. “Knowing this, past administrations — both Democrat and Republican — have protected Israel from the vagaries of this biased institution.”“Unfortunately, by abstaining on United Nations Resolutions 2334, this administration has not followed in that path.” he added. “This Senate resolution reaffirms that peace must come through direct negotiations in order to achieve a sustainable two-state solution.”Schumer’s Republican colleague Rubio echoed a similar sentiment.“Efforts to delegitimize Israel have been underway a long time at the United Nations and have now sadly been aided by the outgoing administration,” he said. “But the time has come to turn back the tide and renew America’s commitment to the Jewish state,”UNSC Resolution 2443 was passed by a vote of 14-0 following a US abstention on December 23, a decision that effectively allowed the motion through. The text calls for a complete end to all construction in areas Israel gained after the 1967 Six Day War, territory that includes the Old City, with the Temple Mount and Western Wall.It also calls on all states “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.”Israel fears such language will lead to an uptick in boycott and sanctions efforts, and Israeli officials have warned it will provide a tailwind for terror.Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced criticism that the resolution impedes an already stalled peace process.The resolution, he said, is “a one-sided text that makes direct negotiations for a two-state solution more challenging.”“Going forward,” he added, “Congress will take action against efforts at the UN, or beyond, that use Resolution 2334 to target Israel. I hope that in 2017, we can look at policies and actions that facilitate resumption of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and I stand ready to support productive efforts.”Nineteen other senators have already signed on to support the resolution, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), Arizona John McCain (R), Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D), Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D), Delaware Sen. Chris Coons (D), Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R), Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R).A House vote on a similar resolution is due for a vote on Thursday and is expected to pass.Iowa Rep. Steve King also offered a separate amendment to the resolution Wednesday that would remove all references to a two-state solution.King, originally a Ted Cruz backer in the presidential election until he put his name behind Trump, has long been an opponent of the two-state framework endorsed by multiple US presidents.He was a vocal supporter of the GOP removing that position from its party platform this summer. In July, he told The Times of Israel: “A two-state solution would only be a new place to build up more arms to fire more rockets into Israel proper. So I don’t think they should concede the land Israelis have fought over.”King’s amendment is unlikely to be embraced by the Democratic members backing the resolution who argue the two-state solution is the only solution to the conflict.
More Americans support UN resolution on Israel than oppose it — poll-While 35% of respondents back the anti-settlements Security Council resolution and 28% reject it, a plurality of 36% holds no opinion either way-By Eric Cortellessa January 4, 2017, 10:04 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — More Americans support last month’s United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements than those who oppose it, while a plurality of respondents hold no viewpoint on the matter, according to new polling.A national tracking poll conducted by Politico and Morning Consult recently found that 35% of US voters back UNSC Resolution 2334 — which declares all settlement construction to be in violation of international law — while 28% said they opposed the measure.The US abstaining on that vote was seen as a sharp policy shift by Washington, which has historically shielded Israel from similar resolutions dealing with settlements by wielding its veto.Asked their feelings on the UN motion, 14% of voters said they “strongly supported”; 21% said they “somewhat supported”; 11% said they “strongly opposed”; 17% said they “somewhat opposed”; and 36% said don’t have an opinion or didn’t know.On a separate question, voters were asked what they think of settlements in more abstract terms.Given three options of which statements came closest to their views, 28% of respondents said they thought settlement construction in the West Bank and Gaza enhanced Israel’s security and that, because a Palestinian state has not previously existed, such building on disputed territory did not deny Palestinians any rights.The question included Gaza, despite the fact that Israel evacuated its settlements and soldiers from the Palestinian enclave in 2005.Likewise, 28% said that such settlement communities do “violate international laws and the rights of Palestinians,” and pose an obstacle to establishing a peace deal between the sides.A plurality of 44% of respondents, however, said they held no opinion on the issue or didn’t know.The survey also asked about their level of engagement with the recent UN resolution — how much had they “seen, read or heard” about it.According to the polling: 19% said they encountered the measure “a lot”; 38% said “some”; 24% said “not much”; and 19% said “not at all.”The poll, conducted from December 28 to December 29, sampled 2,000 registered voters. It’s margin of error was +/- 2%.UNSC Resolution 2443 was passed by a vote of 14-0 following a US abstention on December 23, a decision that effectively allowed the motion through. The text calls for a complete end to all construction in areas Israel gained after the 1967 Six Day War, territory that includes the Old City, with the Temple Mount and Western Wall.It also calls on all states “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.”Israel fears such language will lead to an uptick in boycott and sanctions efforts, and Israeli officials have warned it will provide “a tailwind for terror.”The measure was met with furious condemnations from Jerusalem, with politicians issuing scathing criticisms of the countries that pushed for and supported the measure, as well as the Obama administration for withholding its veto power.
67% of Israelis want pardon for IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter-New survey shows most Israelis against conviction of Sgt. Elor Azaria, filmed killing a wounded Palestinian attacker-By Times of Israel staff January 5, 2017, 1:10 am
A sizable majority of Israelis support the pardoning of an IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron last year, a poll conducted on Wednesday found.According to the flash survey commissioned by Channel 2, some 67 percent of Israelis said they supported clemency for Sgt. Elor Azaria, while 19% said he shouldn’t be pardoned.A military tribunal in Tel Aviv convicted Azaria, 19, for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian, who minutes before had stabbed two other soldiers. The decision, which his attorneys slammed as biased, concluded a months-long trial that deeply divided the country.The results showed that 51% of respondents opposed Wednesday’s manslaughter verdict, while 36% said they backed it.Moreover, 52% of poll participants said they disagreed with comments by IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot seeming to dismiss the idea that Azaria should be protected from prosecution as he is ‘everyone’s child.’“An 18-year-old man serving in the army is not ‘everyone’s child.’ He is a fighter, a soldier, who must dedicate his life to carry out the tasks we give him. We cannot be confused about this,” Eisenkot said Tuesday.Some 38% said they agreed with Eisenkot’s remarks.The poll was conducted on Wednesday by Machon Midgam and the iPanel survey platforms. The report did not reveal how the poll was conducted or how many people were contacted.Azaria’s trial saw politicians and current and former army generals alternately supporting or condemning the soldier’s actions. Many of the army’s top brass, as well as former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, had railed against Azaria’s “unethical” decision to shoot the assailant, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, in the head nearly 15 minutes after the latter was shot and wounded as he attempted to stab an IDF soldier in Hebron.Azaria was filmed shooting Sharif on March 24, 2016. The footage, which was published online shortly after the incident by the left-wing advocacy group B’Tselem, sparked an intense debate in Israel about military discipline and ethics in the midst of a wave of Palestinian terror attacks that began in September 2015.In the face of strong condemnation of Azaria’s actions by top military brass, including Eisenkot and Ya’alon, far-right supporters and some politicians have accused the defense establishment of abandoning one of its own.Following the verdict, politicians from across the political spectrum called for Azaria to be pardoned.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz and opposition lawmaker Shelly Yachimovich were among those appealing for clemency for the soldier.Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
Netanyahu backs pardon for soldier convicted of killing wounded stabber-‘This is a hard and painful day,’ PM says, joining other senior lawmakers calling for Elor Azaria to be let off after manslaughter conviction-By Raoul Wootliff January 4, 2017, 9:01 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening said he backs calls to pardon an IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant, and described the conclusion of the months-long trial as “a hard and painful day.”The Jaffa Military court earlier Wednesday convicted Sgt. Elor Azaria, 19, for shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian who minutes before had stabbed two other soldiers.The trial deeply divided the country, with politicians and current and former army generals alternately supporting or condemning Azaria’s actions.Politicians from across the political spectrum responded to the verdict by calling for a presidential pardon to prevent Azaria serving jail time.Writing on Facebook Wednesday night, Netanyahu gave his backing to the calls for clemency, saying that he supported granting Azaria a pardon.“This is a hard and painful day for us all — first and foremost for Elor and his family, for IDF soldiers, for many citizens, and for the parents of our soldiers, myself included,” the prime minister wrote.“I urge all citizens to act responsibly toward the IDF, the officers, and the IDF chief… IDF soldiers are our sons and daughters, and they must remain above all conflict. I support pardoning Elor Azaria,” he wrote.Earlier, Culture Minister Miri Regev (Likud) called for a pardon for Azaria and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the right-wing Jewish Home party, reiterated the call he had made the previous day, saying Azaria must be pardoned “immediately, right now.”Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) also publicly called for Azaria to be pardoned. In a surprise development, coalition ministers were joined in their call by Zionist Union’s Shelly Yachimovich, former head of the Labour Party.Likud MK Yehudah Glick, meanwhile, called for clemency, but not a full pardon, for Azaria.Responding to the calls, President Reuven Rivlin’s office said that defendants, rather than politicians, must apply for clemency and that requests will only be dealt with after all legal proceedings have ended.“In accordance with standard practice regarding requests for pardons on this or any case, requests for pardons are dealt with when submitted by the applicant themselves, or by one with power of attorney, or an immediate relative, following a conclusive judicial ruling,” the statement read.“In light of the foregoing, and in relation to the case of the soldier Elor Azaria, in the event that a pardon should be requested, it will be considered by the president in accordance with standard practices and after recommendations from the relevant authorities.”The statement suggested Rivlin will not make any decision until after sentencing, giving him the option to commute the sentence rather than overturn it entirely.Azaria’s sentencing will take place in just over a week, on January 15, according to the IDF. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, though analysts expect him to receive less than that.His defense team said immediately after the verdict that it will appeal.Many of the army’s top brass, as well as former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, had railed against Azaria’s “unethical” decision to shoot the assailant, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, in the head nearly 15 minutes after the latter was shot and wounded as he attempted to stab an IDF soldier in Hebron.Azaria was filmed shooting Sharif on March 24, 2016. The footage, which was published online shortly after the incident by the left-wing advocacy group B’Tselem, sparked an intense debate in Israel about military discipline and ethics in the midst of a wave of Palestinian terror attacks that began in September 2015.Responding to the conviction, Ya’alon accused politicians of “cynically exploiting” the Azaria case to score political points, hurting the soldier and his family in the process.“Today, with the conviction, we can say that the IDF and the Azaria family were seriously harmed by politicians who have betrayed their office,” the former defense minister said. “The criminal process that the soldier Elor and his family have experienced has been too difficult to bear and should have looked differently, should have been managed differently. The reason for its dragging out in a way that made it difficult for everyone involved is the cynical exploitation of the case by interested politicians for their own personal gain.”“Rather than being leaders, they used Elor and his family as a political pawn for a few more seats. They lied to you. I am ashamed of those politicians,” Ya’alon added.
Palestinian UN worker sentenced to 7 months for aiding Hamas-Waheed Borsh convicted of diverting materials to build jetty, aiding Gaza terror group; likely to be released next week under plea deal-By AFP and Times of Israel staff January 4, 2017, 7:40 pm
A Palestinian UN worker accused by Israel of aiding the Hamas terrorist group was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Wednesday, his lawyer said, in a plea deal that will see him released soon.Waheed Borsh was convicted of “rendering services to an illegal organization without intention,” his lawyer Lea Tsemel told AFP. With time already served, he is expected to be released on January 12.The case centered on accusations that rubble in Gaza under the responsibility of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was misused by the terrorist group Hamas that controls the enclave.The engineer from Jabaliya in northern Gaza, who worked for the UNDP, was arrested on July 16.According to the Shin Bet security service, Borsh was recruited by a Hamas member to “redirect his work for UNDP to serve Hamas’s military interests.”During his interrogation, Borsh told investigators that in 2014, he was directed by Hamas to “focus on his work in the UNDP in a way that would allow Hamas to extract the greatest possible benefit from him,” the Shin Bet said at the time.The UNDP has operated in the West Bank and Gaza since the late 1970s. In recent years, its Gaza branch has focused on rebuilding the homes and businesses destroyed in the conflicts between Israel and Hamas.In August, Borsh was charged with diverting 300 tons of rubble from a UNDP project in the Gaza Strip, run by Hamas, to build a jetty for the Islamist movement’s naval force.After reviewing the charge sheet, the UNDP challenged Israel’s allegations and said Borsh diverted the rubble under instructions from the Palestinian Authority.Tsemel stressed that her client had been convicted only of unintentionally aiding Hamas by “moving some rubble.”“The prosecution claimed that he should have checked better as this could have helped Hamas.”The UNDP said it had “zero tolerance for wrongdoing”, but that the case did not prove deliberate intent.“This outcome confirms that there was no wrongdoing by UNDP,” the body said in a statement.UN officials argued that Borsh, as a UN employee, may qualify for immunity from prosecution and requested that they be allowed to visit him in jail.Israel however, rejected the UN request, saying “whoever assists a terror organization cannot hide behind a claim of immunity.”In addition to Borsh, Israel has accused two other Palestinians of infiltrating international aid organizations on behalf of Hamas.In August, an Israeli court charged Muhammad Halabi with channeling millions of dollars in foreign aid to Hamas and its armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Halabi, who worked for the Christian organization World Vision, was arrested in June and later indicted on a number of charges, including funding terror. The charge sheet said he was recruited by Hamas to infiltrate the aid organization more than a decade ago, rising to become the head of the organization’s Gaza operations.According to the Shin Bet, Halabi also recruited a Palestinian aid worker from the Britain-based Save the Children to join the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in 2014.The governments of Britain, Germany and Australia suspended their donations to the charity over Halabi’s alleged links to Hamas.Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, said at the time the cases were evidence of a “troubling trend of the systematic exploitation by Hamas.”AFP visited the site of the alleged UNDP misuse last summer and found a new-looking jetty extending around 50 metres (yards) into the sea.Perhaps 10 feet (three yards) wide, it had wooden slats erected on one side to obscure the view.Armed Hamas fighters were in nearby fields.UNDP officials privately accepted that rubble from one of its projects may have been used in the construction of the jetty.But they stressed the disposal occurred in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Works, which is run by Hamas’s rivals Fatah.Fatah leads the internationally recognized Palestinian government, and a UNDP probe concluded that there were no signs of Hamas activity in the area at the time the rubble was placed there.
Campaign rhetoric, post-election hate crimes draw Jewish historians into fray-Since Election Day, scholars and curators of Jewish history have consistently issued one message: Watch out-By Ben Sales January 5, 2017, 3:15 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
NEW YORK — In the two months since the presidential election, American scholars and curators of Jewish history have sent a consistent message: Watch out.“Our history reminds us of the dangers of racism and bigotry,” The Center for Jewish History warned last week. In a November statement, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum said the “Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words.” That same month, an open letter from more than 200 American Jewish historians suggested that it “is not too soon to begin mobilizing in solidarity.”The statements are rare acts of speaking out, their authors and signers say. Academics and historical institutions generally try to stay above the political fray in their professional lives, focusing more on interpreting what once happened, not what’s happening now.But a presidential campaign featuring the ethnically charged rhetoric of Donald Trump and many of his followers, and an election aftermath that saw a rise in hate crimes and invective targeting Jews and other minorities, convinced the institutions to raise their voices.“This was really a watershed moment for me,” said Hasia Diner, director of New York University’s Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History, who helped organize the historians’ open letter. “It made me realize that in fact, as historians, no one is saying x, y or z is going to happen, but we had and have a responsibility to just wave the flag a bit.”The letter, which was published in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles one week after the election, was explicit in blaming Trump for fanning the flames of bigotry toward “Muslims, Latinos, women, and others.” It noted how the American Jewish community has flourished since World War II and called on American Jews, mindful of their own past persecution, to stand up against anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred.“Our reading of the past impels us to resist any attempts to place a vulnerable group in the crosshairs of nativist racism,” the letter read. “It is our duty to come to their aid and to resist the degradation of rights that Mr. Trump’s rhetoric has provoked.”Throughout the presidential campaign and since the election, Jewish groups have split on how best to condemn anti-Semitism and how explicitly, if at all, to link it to the president-elect’s rhetoric. Some, like the Anti-Defamation League, have not been shy about criticizing Trump on issues like his call for a national registry of Muslims and a campaign ad it said used tropes that historically were used against Jews.Others, like the Jewish Federations of North America, have reached out to Trump and offered their assistance and counsel without issuing critical statements.Unlike the historians’ letter, the statements from the historical institutions avoided naming Trump or taking a political stance. But they also invoked the long history of Jewish persecution in urging Jews to stand up against bigotry.“When the Jews faced annihilation in Europe, we remember that the campaign mounted against us began with hateful words,” read the Dec. 28 statement by Joel Levy, president of the Center for Jewish History. “We must unequivocally protest acts of violence or discrimination motivated by ethnicity, religion, or sexual identity.”A version of Levy’s statement was issued initially a year ago with slightly different language. That statement, condemning “the toxic virus of Islamophobia” and specifically noting that Jews were once excluded from entry to the United States, came shortly after Trump first proposed a ban on Muslim immigration to the country.The updated statement condemns hate crimes “targeting Jews, Muslims, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other minority groups.”But Levy told JTA that the center was nonpartisan.“There are hateful voices from many quarters,” he told JTA. “I do not think this a political statement commenting on particular policies of the president-elect. Both statements are about core American Jewish values, and restating them and calling attention to them.”The Holocaust museum often comments publicly on preventing genocide and opposing bigotry internationally, but its Nov. 22 statement was a rarity, commenting on a white nationalist rally that took place at a building just blocks from the museum. Noting the use of Nazi terms by speakers, the statement invoked Holocaust history and “call[ed] on all American citizens, our religious and civic leaders, and the leadership of all branches of the government to confront racist thinking and divisive hateful speech.”Tad Stahnke, director of the museum’s Initiative on Holocaust Denial and Antisemitism, said the rally’s proximity and content spurred the statement, but that it was not meant as a comment on broader trends.“This is something happening just a few blocks from our museum here in Washington, where you have this combination of anti-Semitic racist rhetoric and invocation of Nazi slogans,” Stahnke said, referring to chants of “Hail Trump!” by rally-goers. “That merited a clear statement of condemnation.”Not everyone believes historians should be commenting on current events, and Trump’s campaign repeatedly denied that his campaign was in any way bigoted or that he was responsible for the white nationalists who endorsed him.Responding to the historians’ letter in the Jewish Journal, Allan Nadler, professor of religious studies and director of the Jewish studies program at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, wrote, “So inappropriate. What ever happened to scholarly objectivity, and never foreshadowing history? These historians are violating both principles.”Levy and Diner both said they weren’t sure how they would react if currents of hate become stronger. And Diner said that no matter what impact the statements have, they allow historians to take their part in a current debate.“These can be symbolic acts, but symbols are terribly important,” she said. “And if the vast majority of scholars of the Jewish past have said ‘Wait a minute, just keep your eyes open because this could be a disaster,’ it behooves the public to pay attention.”
