US finally gets it: Jewish freeze won't bring peace

Wednesday, December 08, 2010 | Ryan Jones

A senior US official on Tuesday announced that the Obama Administration was ending its pressure on Israel to impose another Jewish building freeze and would be returning to the drawing board to try and figure out a new approach to brokering peace in the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters via telephone, the official did not openly blame either side for the breakdown, but did hint that Washington had become aware that even if Israel imposed another building freeze, it still wouldn’t result in meaningful negotiations or progress with the Palestinians.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had agreed in principle with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to impose another freeze for 90 days in order to facilitate renewed peace talks. But the Palestinians immediately said the US-Israeli proposal did not go nearly far enough, as it did not prohibit Jewish construction in Jerusalem and had a very short timetable.

Israel had already implemented a self-imposed 10-month Jewish building freeze from November 2009-September 2010 in order to entice the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. But the Palestinian leadership all but ignore the gesture up until the very last minute, when they joined talks, but threatened to leave if the freeze was not extended indefinitely.

The US now intends to start a new round of consultation with Middle East leaders, and hopes to invite Israeli and Palestinian leaders to Washington this month for separate talks.

But the Palestinians have other plans.

Speaking in Greece on Wednesday, senior Palestinian Authority advisor Yasser Abed Rabbo declared that US efforts to bring peace based on bilateral negotiations have failed and that the Palestinians must now “turn to the broader framework of the international community” to impose a settlement to the conflict.

Rabbo, who was traveling with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, suggested that the PA would now turn to the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinian state, something the US has threatened to veto in the absence of a bilateral agreement with Israel.
source:http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=22397

US college president: Anti-Israel professor cannot be fired

Tenured Pennsylvania professor who questioned Shoah, referred to Israel as ‘hydra-headed monster’ cannot be fired, university president says; Pakistan-born lecturer gets green-light to express his opinions outside classroom

Associated Press
Published: 10.29.10, 01:59 / Israel News

The president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania says he cannot fire a tenured professor who has questioned the Holocaust and expressed virulent anti-Israel views because the teacher has kept his opinions out of the classroom.

A Thursday statement from Ivory Nelson, president of the state-supported university, says Professor Kaukab Siddique's beliefs may be "insidious" but he can express them "as long as he does not present such opinions as the views of the university."

Siddique has questioned the Holocaust and called for the destruction of Israel in forums including a September rally in Washington, DC, and an online magazine he edits called New Trend.

Speaking at the recent Labor Day rally, Siddique said: "We must stand united to defeat, to destroy, to dismantle Israel – if possible by peaceful means... For the Jews, I would say, 'See what could happen to you if the Muslims wake up.' And I say to the Muslims, Dear brothers and sisters – unite and rise up against this hydra-headed monster which calls itself Zionism.'"

Vocal critic of Israel

Originally from Pakistan, Siddique, 67, is a vocal critic of what he calls "Israel's record of human-rights abuses in the Palestinian territories." Nevertheless, he maintains that his Labor Day statements have been misunderstood.

The professor's remarks sparked outrage among pro-Israeli groups and as Lincoln University is a Pennsylvania State-sponsored school, State Senator Daylin Leach – and numerous other members of the State Assembly – have urged Lincoln president Ivory Nelson to ensure the professor's "anti-Semitic diatribes" had not made their way into the university's classrooms.

Siddique is a tenured professor in English and mass communications. He did not respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976608,00.html

College Professor Calls for Israel's Destruction

By Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News Terrorism Analyst

Tuesday, October 19, 2010


The flags carried the logo of the terror group Hezbollah. The rhetoric was the kind you'd normally hear in Tehran or Gaza.

Yet the scene occurred in Washington, D.C, just minutes from the White House.

"We must stand united to defeat, to destroy, to dismantle Israel--if possible by peaceful means," Kaukab Siddique said. "Perhaps, like Saladin, we will give them enough food and water to travel back to the lands from where they came to occupy other people."

Siddique is an associate professor of English at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

He used his time outside the classroom over Labor Day weekend to address radical Muslims and leftists at an anti-Israel rally in Washington, D.C. marking "Al Quds Day."

"For the Jews, I would say see what could happen to you if the Muslims wake up," Siddique warned. "And I say to the Muslims, dear brothers and sisters, unite and rise up against this hydra-headed monster which calls itself Zionism."

The Investigative Project on Terrorism captured footage of Siddique's Washington rant.

"This is not a one off deal, this event Labor Day weekend," IPT Executive Director Ray Locker told CBN News. "This is something he has said at similar events over a period of at least a dozen years, as far as we can tell."

CBN News found e-mail exchanges posted online in which Siddique called the Holocaust "a hoax" that was "invented," saying there is "not even one document" to prove it happened.

He's also written that Jews have "taken over America" by "devious and immoral means."

Despite a history of anti-Semitic statements, Siddique maintains a job teaching literature at Lincoln University and sits on at least two school committees.

Lincoln is the nation's oldest historically African-American college. Since 2003, it's received almost $200 million in Pennsylvania state money towards various projects.

Lincoln University administrators declined to appear on camera with CBN News. But the school's executive vice president, Michael Hill, told us they in no way agree with or support Siddique's comments on Israel. However, Hill added that Siddique is tenured and has freedom of speech, and the school cannot control what he does or says on his time as a private citizen.

Siddique has also advocated for two convicted terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda -- including the cleric behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

"It's one thing to have strong beliefs," Locker said. "It's another to advocate violence and go to bat for people who are established terrorists."

Hill told CBN News the school will make sure that Siddique's political comments are not part of his classroom curriculum.

Siddique declined a CBN News request for an on-camera interview. But in an e-mail response to our questions, he denied that he was anti-Semitic and said his "speaking out" about Israel, "conform(s) to the ideals and principles that founded Lincoln University."

He added, "When I refer critically to the 'Jews' I am referring to the current leadership of the 'State of Israel' and to their major supporters, not to the Jewish race as a whole."

Siddique's recent statements in Washington, however, appear to suggest otherwise.

"The Koran says drive them out from where they drove you out," he declared. "There's no question of just dismantling the settlements. These settlements are only the tentacles of the devil that resides in Tel Aviv."
source:http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2010/October/College-Professor-Calls-for-Israels-Destruction/?cpid=EU_CBNNEWSPM_2010_291

Have American Jews lost faith in Obama?

US president's tough stands regarding Israel seems to be taking its toll as US Jews' support in him falters, contributions to Democratic Party drop 65%

Yitzhak Benhorin
Published: 10.12.10, 07:59 / Israel News

WASHINGTON – Have American Jews given up on US President Barack Obama? Senior members of the US community Jewish have spoken up against Obama's foreign policy regarding Israel, and it what is considered a rarity, have said that should he continue on his current path, they will stop their contributions to the Democratic Party.


Since taking office, it seems as if Obama has lost ground across every sector in the United States, but throughout, he has always enjoyed wide-scale support from US Jews.


Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told the Huffington Post that although the US president enjoyed a 78% support rate among American Jews at the time of his election, he has now lost about a third.


According to the report, the Obama administration has annoyed Jewish leaders to the point where they are thinking of sitting out the 2010 election. Federal Election Commission records show contributions to Democratic candidates from the financial sector, where Jews hold important positions, are down 65% from two years ago.


"I started breaking with Obama ten months ago," Martin Peretz, editor in chief of The New Republic, told the Huffington Post, "And I know that a lot of West Coast Jews are also having buyer's remorse."


Hollywood billionaire Haim Saban echoed the sentiment: "The assumption on the part of the Obama administration is that because Jews are liberals, they simply will not vote for Republicans.


"Obama can invite the ten most prolific Jewish campaign bundlers to the White House for a discussion, and give a wonderful speech, and he'll think that this may resolve all his problems with American Jews. And it may – or it may not."


Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, has voiced his policy concerns to Obama directly. Foxman later said that when the two met, he told the US president that while he agreed with his overall Middle East agenda, the perception was that he was lashing out solely at Israel and exempting the Arabs.


While Obama refuted Foxman's premise, the latter said he still left the meeting feeling that the White House's new strategy was "dangerous."


The Obama administration, said Foxman, believes that if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, the wolf and the lamb shall dwell together and all will be well. To that end, all of his advisors are telling him that he should break away from his predecessors' policies and prove to the Arabs and the Muslims that he is different, that he can distance himself from Israel.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3968020,00.html

Cambridge, Mass. Hindu Yoga Accepted While Christian Symbols Are Taken Down

by Staff
September 30, 2010

MADISON, Wis., (christiansunite.com) -- The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts has pictures of yoga positions on parking ticket envelopes while Christian symbols are being taken down throughout the United States.

Forty thousand citations have been issued by Cambridge parking officers with yoga positions on the front of parking ticket envelopes. Instructions are given to show people how to do the yoga positions. Yoga is a 'symbol' of Hinduism.

Officials say the tickets are used to lead to a "peaceful exchange" between officers and the public. Cambridge officers hand out 340,000 parking tickets per year.

However, throughout the United States, Christian symbols are being removed from many public places. Schools, courthouses, and other public buildings have been forced to remove Christian symbols.

The ACLU and other atheist organizations have worked overtime to make sure Christian symbols are taken down. However, they are silent as yoga is propagated in our schools and public buildings, and now on parking tickets.

Yoga is a 'symbol' of Hinduism. Hindu leaders know this and they are pleased that yoga is making headway. Rajan Zed, Hindu statesmen, sent out a news release thanking Cambridge for their promotion of yoga.

Zed says "Yoga was based on a eightfold path to direct the practitioner from awareness of the external world to focus on the inner." Swami Vivekananda brought yoga to the United States in 1893. About 16 million Americans now do yoga.

Some say that Christians can practice yoga, however, yoga is a spiritual exercise. It goes beyond normal stretching.

ChristianInvestigator.com President Steve McConkey says, "Yoga, being a symbol of Hinduism, is pushed by some Christians without realizing yoga promotes Hinduism, spiritually and symbolically."

Steve McConkey is the President/Founder of 4 Winds Christian Athletics (4 WINDS), a worldwide track and field ministry which offers ChristianInvestigator.com. ChristianInvestigator.com is the first ever news-apologetics site offered by a sports ministry. The ChristianInvestigator.com site was started for athletes, but the vast number of readers are now non-athletes. Steve has been on hundreds of radio stations and in major newspapers throughout the world.

US to Palestinians: Hold your tongues if you want a state

The Obama Administration is urging senior Palestinian officials to keep their views about Israel and its leaders to themselves for the time being if they want the current negotiations to bear fruit and result in the establishment of a Palestinian state.

So said Palestinian officials who spoke to Israel’s Ynet news portal on Tuesday.

The Palestinians said the Americans cited as an example a recent interview given by Mohammed Dahlan during which the senior aide to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas characterized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “liar” and said the peace talks had little chance with someone like him at Israel’s helm.

The White House was also reportedly frustrated by constant leaks by Palestinian officials regarding details of the negotiations, with added commentary that the Palestinians don’t like the way things are going.

The American reaction to this phenomenon highlights one of the primary deficiencies of the current peace process. Washington has for the past decade-and-a-half been focused on concluding a final status Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, regardless of whether or not an atmosphere conducive to peaceful coexistence actually exists.

That the Palestinian leadership and the majority of the public fed by its statements still view Israel and the Jews as an enemy to be hated and ultimately defeated is not seen by the US as being in any way detrimental to the prospects of a lasting peace.

EIther that, or the US administration doesn’t actually care about peace, but is rather more interested in a diplomatic achievement for itself.
source:http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=21914

Burning the Quran? Leaders Speak Out

ChurchWatch

Join Craig von Buseck weekdays as he shares his perspective on the major trends and news affecting the Body of Christ today.

Craig von Buseck

By now, most people have heard the reports that a virtually unknown minister, Pastor Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, plans to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington by burning copies of the Quran.

The QuranJones said he will still go ahead with the event despite U.S. official warnings it will endanger American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. "We are still determined to do it, yes," Jones told the CBS "Early Morning" show.

Earlier this week, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, issued a statement criticizing the plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, warning the demonstration "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," General Petraeus said.

Petraeus warned that burning Qurans "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems -- not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."

Jones insists the event is "neither an act of love nor of hate," but a warning against what he calls the threats posed by Islam.

But other Christian leaders disagree and have been vocal in their opposition to what is being called a dangerous publicity stunt.

On The 700 Club, Pat Robertson asked the question, "Can you imagine a pastor that is so egotistical that he would sacrifice the lives of missionaries and soldiers to go forward with it? … This guy is looking for attention. He's looking for publicity. … I think it's horrible what this guy is doing."

Open Doors USA President, Carl Moeller reacted with a strong warning. “The planned burning of the Quran is a disaster on two fronts: It violates the command of Jesus to love our neighbor and it would likely cause Christians worldwide to be more vilified and persecuted.”

Moeller says a possible Muslim backlash would probably focus on Christians living in predominately Muslim countries who already are caught in the crossfire, including those who have converted from Islam to Christianity.

“The burning of Qurans will only confirm what many Muslims believe – that Christians hate Muslims. That is exactly the opposite message we as Christians want to send."

“I urge the Dove World Outreach Center and its senior pastor, Terry Jones, to cancel the event," Moeller pleaded. "Hate is not biblical; it is not the message of Jesus.”

J. Lee Grady of Charisma Magazine declared, "Rev. Terry Jones does not speak for charismatic Christians, and his brand of fire-breathing judgmentalism doesn't even remotely resemble the message of Jesus Christ. I am praying that he will repent and renounce his outrageous intentions before the time arrives to strike the first match."

Grady points out that the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), which represents numerous Pentecostal denominations and charismatic fellowships, denounced Jones' actions in a recent statement. "The NAE calls on its members to cultivate relationships of trust and respect with our neighbours of other faiths. God created human beings in His image, and therefore all should be treated with dignity and respect," the statement said.

Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition wrote, "I heard someone call the Dove World Outreach Center’s 'Burn a Koran Day' a 'stunt' earlier today and I thought that captured it pretty well. Burning books takes on a very ominous tone because it is so closely associated with the Nazis. It is being done for one purpose – publicity. Like that Kansas pastor who shows up at military funerals with his crude signs, the Florida pastor is anxious for his 15 minutes of fame and he’ll do anything to get it."

Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship explains that this act is not only un-Christian, but it is also un-American. "The unique thing about the United States is that we are prepared to fight for and defend every single individual’s right to his or her choice to practice the religion of their choice. We learn to respect our differences in a free, pluralistic society."

"I find Jones’s plan to burn the Koran foolish and contemptible," Colson declared. "It poses dangers Jones has either overlooked or chooses to ignore.

Dr. John Rankin, president of the Theological Education Institute warns, if Jones burns the Qur’an, “the images will reverberate on the Internet internationally, and this could lead to unparalleled fury in the Muslim world.”

Colson agrees and points out that most of that fury will be directed into violence against Christians in Muslim areas throughout the world. "If Jones goes through with this horrid plan, people—Christian people—will suffer and some will die."

Secretary of State Clinton has condemned the church's plans during her remarks at a State Department dinner she hosted in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths," Clinton said.

CNN is reporting that religious leaders in Gainesville have planned an event billed as a "Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope" on September 10, in response to the Jones' Quran burning plan.

Carl Moeller stated the case in plain language. "We will most likely see Christians killed around the world because of these Quran burnings."

So here's my take on this issue: I think we need to go back to the words of Jesus when confronted with these kinds of inflammatory and antagonistic actions.

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44, ESV)

Nothing more needs to be said.

On whose side is Obama?

Op-ed: President Obama owes every American apology over handling of mosque affair

Moshe Dann
Published: 08.25.10, 00:01 / Israel Opinion

President Obama's defense of the right of Muslims to build a mosque and Islamic center in New York City turned the issue into one of religious freedom. That was wrong.

Obama's first priority - like that of every national leader - is to speak for his country and on its behalf. Obama's refusal to do so, his insinuation that questions raised about a proposed Islamic mega-center near the site of the 9/11 attacks are un-American, unconstitutional, and prejudiced have shamed every American, and the good name of America.

Obama could have defended America; instead, he apologized for it.

He could have said that 4,400 Americans have died in Iraq, 1,200 have died in Afghanistan, and hundreds of thousands of Americans have been wounded - to help those Muslim countries attain freedom. And of course, hundreds of billions of dollars were spent towards that effort. But he didn't.

Obama might have said that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the US; hundreds of thousands of Muslims have found a home in America since and despite 9/11. He could have said: America has and continues to stand for freedom and democracy. He did not.

He is probably the first American president to malign his own country.

Obama could have explained that American law and values do not support discrimination, certainly not against Muslims; our history proves that. There are about 2,000 mosques in the United States, serving about 8 million Muslims; NYC alone has a dozen mosques. And Muslims are doing well in America: 67% have higher degrees; their average income is over $42,000; 26% earn over $100,000; 67% buy a new car every 3 years.

President Obama could have also noted that most American Muslims don't attend prayer services; mosques are often political and social centers, some of which are problematic.

'Grave threat to non-Muslims’

According to FBI estimates, 10 % of the mosques in the United States are associated with radical Jihadist ideology. Others estimate that 80% of mosques are dominated by the extremist Wahhabi ideology promoted by Saudi Arabia. And they are allowed to practice, under American principles of freedom of religion.

Unlike houses of worship in America which are built and supported by the local population, most mosques receive funding from foreign countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

President Obama might have noted that the Muslim Brotherhood, a Nazi organization that is banned in Egypt, is associated with some American mosques.

A study by Freedom House concluded that American mosques offer a wide selection of Saudi publications that promote hateful ideology, with all materials found to have some connection to Saudi Arabia.

According to the study, these publications advanced a "dualistic worldview in which there exist two antagonistic realms or abodes that can never be reconciled. The study also concluded that these publications "pose a grave threat to non-Muslims and to the Muslim community itself."

President Obama could have explained that this is obviously not an issue of religious freedom. He could have championed America, its reputation, institutions and values. Instead, he reinforced the view that America is bigoted.

For that, President Obama owes every American an apology.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943359,00.html

Poll: Growing number incorrectly call Obama Muslim

US survey based on interviews conducted before controversy over ground zero mosque shows 18% think their president is Muslim, up from 11% who said so in March 2009

Associated Press
Published: 08.19.10, 08:03 / Israel News

Nearly one in five people, or 18%, said they think Obama is Muslim, up from the 11% who said so in March 2009, according to a poll released Thursday. The proportion who correctly say he is a Christian is down to just 34%.

The largest share of people, 43%, said they don't know his religion, an increase from the 34% who said that in early 2009.

The survey, conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center and its affiliated Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, is based on interviews conducted before the controversy over whether Muslims should be permitted to construct a mosque near the World Trade Center site. Obama has said he believes Muslims have the right to build an Islamic center there, though he's also said he won't take a position on whether they should actually build it.

About three in 10 of Obama's fiercest political rivals, Republicans and conservatives, say he is a Muslim. That is up significantly from last year and far higher than the share of Democrats and liberals who say so. But even among his supporters, the number saying he is a Christian has fallen since 2009, with just 43% of blacks and 46% of Democrats saying he is Christian.

Among independents, 18% say Obama is Muslim – up from 10% last year.

Pew analysts attribute the findings to attacks by his opponents and Obama's limited attendance at religious services, particularly in contrast with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, whose worship was more public.

Andrew Kohut, the Pew Research Center's director, said the confusion partly reflects "the intensification of negative views about Obama among his critics." Alan Cooperman, the Pew Forum's associate director for research, said that with the public hearing little about Obama's religion, "maybe there's more possibility for other people to make suggestions that the president is this or he's really that or he's really a Muslim."

'We got information from media'

Obama is the Christian son of a Kenyan father who was raised Muslim. From age 6 to 10, Obama lived in predominantly Muslim Indonesia with his mother and Indonesian stepfather. His full name, Barack Hussein Obama, sounds Muslim to many Americans.

White House officials did not provide on-the-record comments on the survey, but they prompted Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell of Houston to call The Associated Press.

Caldwell, who said he has known Obama for years, said the president is a Christian who prays every day. He said he was not sure where the public confusion about the president's religion came from, but he called false media reports about it "a 24-hour noise box committed to presenting the president in a false light."

Six in 10 of those saying Obama is a Muslim said they got the information from the media, with the largest portion – 16% - saying it was on television. Eleven percent said they learned it from Obama's behavior and words.

Despite the confusion about Obama's religion, there is noteworthy support for how he uses it to make decisions. Nearly half, or 48%, said he relies on his religion the right amount when making policy choices, 21% said he uses it too little and 11% too much.

At the same time, the poll provides broad indications that the public feels religion is playing a diminished role in politics today, with fewer people than in 2008 saying the Democratic and Republican parties are friendly toward religion.

With elections for control of Congress just over two months away, the poll contains optimistic news for Republicans. Half of white non-Hispanic Catholics, plus three in 10 unaffiliated with a religion and a third of Jews support the GOP – all an increase since 2008.

The survey also found:

* The Democratic Party is seen as friendly to religion by 26%, while 43% say the same about the Republicans. That's a 9 percentage point drop for Republicans since 2008, and 12 points lower for Democrats.
* Fifty-two percent say churches should stay away from politics, a reversal of the slim majorities that supported churches' political involvement from 1996 to 2006.

The poll, overseen by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, involved landline and cell phone interviews with 3,003 randomly chosen adults. It was conducted July 21-August 5 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3939636,00.html

Senator Reid says mosque shouldn't be built near ground zero

Breaking from President Obama, top Democrat says despite First Amendment, mosque should not be built near site of 9/11 attacks

WASHINGTON - The Senate's top Democrat says a mosque should not be built near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada on Monday became the highest-profile Democrat to break with President Barack Obama, who on Friday backed the right for the developers to build a mosque near ground zero.

In a statement, Reid said the First Amendment protects freedom of religion and he respects that, but the mosque should be built somewhere else.

Critics have said the location of the mosque is insensitive because the terrorists who struck were Islamic extremists.

The plan to build a mosque and Muslim cultural center not far from ground zero in Manhattan has irked the Right. Many Republicans, including former Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, are working hard, and with significant success, to place the issue on the public agenda ahead of the mid-term elections on November 2.

Reid is in a tight campaign for re-election in Nevada. His opponent, Republican Sharron Angle, earlier in the day called for Reid to say whether he agreed with Obama.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3937824,00.html

Muslims Seek to Censor Gospel of Christ

by Staff
August 13, 2010

BRIDGEPORT, Conn., (christiansunite.com) -- In an unprecedented move, Muslim leaders in Connecticut are staging a press conference in Hartford this afternoon, to plead with legislators to censor the Gospel of Christ from the public forum around mosques.

That's right! They are using their own potential for violence to silence the Gospel of Christ. Gentle Christian saints will be conducting a press conference on the public sidewalk in front of the Bridgeport Islamic Center, aka Mafjid An-Noor Mosque in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Truth is hate to those who hate the truth.

Islam is not a religion, nor a cult, but a total and complete 100 % system of life. It has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. In all of the 27 countries ruled by Islam, the church is the state! No other religion will be tolerated.

"Islam presents a monstrous worldview, birthed in the pit of hell, which brings untold misery and murder upon precious people created in the image of God. Religion is its cover (its beard) by which it gains entrance into nations where the 'freedom of religion' is sacrosanct. It then takes this freedom afforded to it, and begins its insidious takeover." Rev. Flip Benham of Operation Save America.

"Like a python, slowly moving upon its prey with almost imperceptible and hypnotic movement, it begins to coil around its victim until it squeezes every last breath of air out of him. When dead, the victim is swallowed whole."

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, yet the Quran states in Sura 4:89, "Those who reject Islam must be killed. If they turn back (from Islam) take hold of them and kill them wherever you find them."

The key difference between Islam and Christianity is that Islam believes that we are to lay the lives of others down to promote the cause of Allah. Christianity, on the other hand, believes that we are to lay down our own lives that others might live. There is a huge difference between a Christian martyr (laying his own life down) and a martyr for Islam (laying the lives of others down). One requires courage. The other is the supreme act of cowardice.
source:http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion09587.shtml

LA Times agrees: Gaza pullout was a mistake

Even the most liberal of commentators on the Middle East peace process are waking up to the fact that it was a mistake for Israel to unilaterally uproot the 10,000 Jews living in the Gaza Strip in 2005.

In a piece carried in the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times, columnist Edmund Sanders opined that the withdrawal implemented by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon under heavy American pressure was an error in judgment by all parties involved.

Sanders noted that while "disengagement enjoyed broad support at the time" both in Israel and abroad, "almost no one calls it a success today."

Among the negative results of the withdrawal, Sanders recognizes that it "helped put Hamas in power... Security for Israelis didn't improve - and even worsened... It contributed to increased isolation for Israel internationally... It raised doubts as to whether the Palestinians are actually ready for statehood... [and] it made Israelis more cynical about the chances for future land-for-peace deals."

Just before the so-called "disengagement," Sharon and the Bush Administration promised Israelis that wholly surrendering Gaza to the Palestinians would create an atmosphere conducive to final state peace negotiations and give Israel a more free hand to defend itself, which in turn would create a deterrent against continued Palestinian attacks from Gaza.

In reality, Hamas painted the withdrawal as an Israeli retreat created by its "resistance" and road that image to an impressive electoral victory and eventual military take-over of Gaza. Hamas then proceeded to fire thousands of rockets into southern Israel over a six-month period in 2008 that precipitated an Israeli invasion of the coastal strip. Rather than keep its word that Israel would have a more free hand in dealing with Gaza-based terror after the withdrawal, the international community blamed Israel for starting the "Gaza war" and accused the Jewish state of war crimes.
source:http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=21680

US Congress halts aid to Lebanese army

The US Congress has put an indefinite hold on $100 million in military assistance to Lebanon after what congressional leaders termed an "outrageous incident" when Lebanese forces opened fire on Israeli troops conducting routine border maintenance last week.
An Israeli commander was killed and one of his deputies was seriously wounded by Lebanese army snipers while pruning a tree that was disrupting the Israeli border security fence. Two Lebanese soldiers were killed when the Israelis returned fire.
The UN confirmed that the Israelis and the tree in question were on the Israeli side of the UN-demarcated Blue Line that acts as the de facto border. Lebanon said it disputes that part of the Blue Line and considers the area to be Lebanese territory, thus justifying the unprovoked attack.
US Rep. Nita Lowey (D-New York), who chairs the House appropriations subcommittee, told The Jerusalem Post that the deadly confrontation was "tragic and entirely avoidable." Lowey said that US military aid "is intended to enhance our safety and that of our allies," and will not be given to Lebanon if it uses the assistance to threaten another US ally.
Congress also wants to find out just how closely the Lebanese army is working with the Hizballah terrorist militia, which largely controls southern Lebanon and enjoys veto power in the Lebanese government.
The $100 million in aid was earmarked for 2010, but had not yet been paid out. Sources on Capitol Hill said whether or not the funds are released depends largely on Lebanon's response to the incident.
Days after the attack, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman visited the site of the border clash and praised Lebanese troops for their "heroic act" of foiling "Israeli aggression." Suleiman suggested that if the US did not like the way it behaves, Lebanon would look for other countries to supply it with arms and military aid.
source:http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=21669

GOP Lawmaker: WH Illegally Funding Kenya Abortion

A Republican congressman has accused the Obama administration of spending U.S. tax dollars on an initiative that would make abortion legal in Kenya.

Citing a report by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said $23 million has gone to Kenyan groups who are working for passage of a new constitution.

The document would expand current abortion laws, which currently allow the procedure only when the mother's life is in danger.

Smith also said the new constitution was not written by Kenyans, but by U.S.-funded non-governmental organizations working with Planned Parenthood.

Federal law forbids the U.S. government to lobby for abortion in other countries.

"Under no circumstances should the U.S. government take sides," Smith said at a news conference Wednesday. "Yet that is precisely what the Obama administration has done."

Smith and two other congressmen have called for a federal investigation into the administration's funding on the referendum.

"If violations of the law have occurred, which on the face of it they have, the information must be brought before law enforcement," Smith said. "Not even presidents are above the law."

Meanwhile, Christian churches in Kenya are encouraging people to vote against the proposed constitution next week.

The draft document would also establish Islamic Sharia law courts where Muslims could resolve social and family disputes according to their beliefs.
source:http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2010/July/GOP-Lawmaker-WH-Illegally-Funding-Kenya-Abortion/

Obama Funds Vote on Abortion in Kenya -- Is This How He'll Fund Abortion in the U.S.?

by Staff
July 21, 2010

WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- New evidence reveals that the Obama administration has given up to $10 million to groups in Kenya that are campaigning for a "Yes" vote on a new constitution that would legalize abortion. Though officials denied the U.S. government is trying to influence the election, documents from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) show funding agreements with organizations to target certain populations to "drum up political support" for the draft constitution.

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi claims the U.S. is neutral on the constitution. But an investigation launched by U.S. congressmen unearthed documents showing how the Obama Administration is funding outside organizations to influence the vote.

This same week, the Obama Administration was caught giving $160 million to Pennsylvania to fund a plan under ObamaCare that will cover any legal abortion in the state. Federal officials claim that, despite what is written in the plan, it will be limited to abortions in the case of rape, incest, and life of the mother.

"We can learn how the Obama Administration will behave in our own country by its actions in Kenya. Despite a federal law banning the government from using foreign aid to lobby for or against abortion, the Administration has given up to $10 million to sway an election that would result in legalizing abortion. If President Obama is sincere in his promise to 'reduce the need for abortions,' then he must stop funding organizations -- internationally and domestically -- that are dedicated to increasing abortions," said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America.

Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
source:http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion09512.shtml

George Washington: A True Christian?

By Lee Webb
CBN News Anchor
Monday, February 22, 2010

As Americans celebrate George Washington's birthday, a debate continues about the man known as the father of our nation, including his religious beliefs.

Was Washington a Deist, who believed that God had no real involvement in the world? Or was he a devout Christian who believed that God revealed Himself in scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ?

"Up until the bicentennial of his birth almost everybody thought he was a Christian," explained Peter Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary. "But then kind of post-1932, it went the other way, that everybody thought he wasn't a religious man.".

Lillback has spent the last 15 years researching Washington's faith.

His 1,100-page book, George Washington's Sacred Fire, includes the founding father's own words and the testimony of his family.

Lillback's conclusion?

"Basically what we see Washington as is a creedal Christian from the Reformational Era," he said. "He held to the 39 articles of the Anglican church, he was a vestryman, he was a warden, he was a parishioner, he held a pew in two different churches and he was on the building committee of churches."

Lillback says it's wrong to compare Washington to a modern day evangelical.

He says Anglicans in Virginia didn't express their faith in the way many Christians do today. But to say our first president paid lip-service to Christianity is to ignore the facts.

"Washington's grandchildren said as they grew in his family that Washington often spent an afternoon with Martha reading a sermon to her," Lillback continued. "I've read those sermons. They could be preached in a biblical pulpit today. They're filled with Christian truth."

But what about historians who say Washington was never confirmed in the church?

"Washington was never confirmed in the Anglican church because you need a bishop to do it and there were no bishops in America," Lillback said.

As for the claim that Washington avoided Communion?

"All the evidence shows that he communed regularly before the war. After the war, he was now at war with the head of the church," he added. "How could you be communing with the king of England when you're trying to fight him?"

Lillback points out that some of Washington's closest friends were clergymen and he entertained many of them at Mt. Vernon-- something a Deist wouldn't have done.

Lillback also counters the modern-day notion that Washington avoided using the name of Jesus Christ.

"For him, Jesus' name was very sacred," he said. "He used that in worship or only when necessary in a special sense."

But he did use it. Washington told the Delaware indians in 1779, "You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are."

And Lillback says Washington's family had no doubt about his firm belief in Christ.
source:http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2008/February/George-Washington-A-True-Christian-/?cpid=EU_SPL_2010_196

US disease control centers to use Israeli innovation

Micromedic develops test which diagnoses whether they have juvenile diabetes. 'By determining whether or not they have the disease, the simple test significantly reduces unnecessary suffering,' company says

A research development by Micromedic, an Israeli company, was selected for inclusion in an international Diabetes Antibody Standardization Program. The kit includes a simple blood test given to children and teenagers in a laboratory setting, which diagnoses whether they have juvenile diabetes. The test is based on identification of biological indicators, and was developed by Micromedic, designed to identify diabetes type 1, CCL3-AAB. Using these biomarkers, it is possible to determine whether young patients carry the disease, and if so, to offer appropriate treatment.

The test is simple and has been available for over a year worldwide. The decision to include the test in the Diabetes Antibody Standardization Program was made by US Department of Health’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Forty-eight leading laboratories from 19 countries, including the US, Europe, and Israel, are participating in the US Department of Health’s comprehensive research program.

In the current study, five of the world’s leading laboratories (in the US, Germany, England and Italy) will include Micromedic’s diagnostic kit for juvenile diabetes in their tests. The initial results of the program are expected to be published at the end of this year at the International Congress of the Immunology of Diabetes.

Micromedic of Israel said it was "extremely proud" of its development, which is "a genuine step forward in the field of juvenile diabetes, where no dramatic diagnostic developments have been achieved in the last 15 years."

The test itself, according to the company, makes life easier for children and teenagers in high-risk groups. "By determining whether or not they have the disease, the simple test significantly reduces unnecessary suffering," the company said.

Micromedic is currently working on a development based on biomarkers and blood tests for early diagnosis of the risk to develop the disease. Such a development could facilitate preventive action.

The decision to include Micromedic’s diagnostic kit in the international Standardization Program "attests to the kit’s novelty and its effectiveness in to identifying diabetes type 1. Inclusion should promote recognition of the Israeli biomarker biomarker’s potential to identify diabetes," the company said.

Micromedic CEO David Solomon said, “Our participation in the DOH’s program is a source of genuine pride for Israel. It is important evidence of the innovativeness of our kit, which will be tested together with other diagnostic kits that have been in existence for decades. Furthermore, the real significance of participation in the program is the unprecedented scientific recognition, which places the Israeli firm of Micromedic on the map as a significant internal player in the field of diabetes diagnostics.

"We expect hundreds of tests to be performed in each of the laboratories where the test will be used, and the results, sponsored by the DOH, will ultimately be based on many hundreds of tests, creating a broad clinical foundation,” he said.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3917099,00.html

Clinton asks Jewish support to free worker in Cuba

US secretary of state tells representatives of American Jewish community that they should add their voices to calls for release of US Agency for International Development contractor, who is helping members of Cuba's small Jewish community use internet to stay in contact with each other, similar groups abroad

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday urged Jewish groups to join the campaign to persuade Cuba to release a US government contractor detained on the communist island for seven months without charge.

Clinton told representatives of the American Jewish community that they should add their voices to calls for Cuba to release Alan P. Gross, a US Agency for International Development contractor who was helping members of Cuba's small Jewish community use the internet to stay in contact with each other and with similar groups abroad.

"Alan was providing information and technology that would assist this community to be better connected," Clinton said at a State Department reception in honor of Hannah Rosenthal, the Obama administration's special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism. Gross' wife, Judy, attended the event.

"Our government works every single day through every channel for his release and safe return home," Clinton said. "But I am really making an appeal to the active Jewish community here in our country to join this cause ... because this family deserves to be reunited and each and every one of us should do everything we can to make it clear to the Cuban government that Alan Gross needs to come home."

Gross, a 60-year-old native of Potomac, Maryland, was working in Cuba for a firm contracted by USAID when he was arrested as a suspected spy in Havana on December 3. He has been held without charge in the capital's high-security Villa Marista prison since.

Humanitarian purposes?

The US says Gross committed no crime and has repeatedly appealed for his release on humanitarian grounds. In May, the head of Cuba's high court said prosecutors had yet to open a legal case against him. Formal charges can't be filed in Cuba without a judicial accusation and the opening of a case, so it appears unlikely charges against Gross are imminent.

Judy Gross has said her husband had brought communications equipment intended only for humanitarian purposes and not for political use by Cuba's small dissident community. Satellite phones and other telecommunications materials are outlawed in Cuba, where the government maintains strict control over Internet access and the media.

Clinton's appeal to the US Jewish community followed the release on Tuesday of seven jailed Cuban dissidents who were sent to Spain, the first of 52 political prisoners to be freed under an agreement worked out between Cuban authorities and the Catholic Church.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3919877,00.html

A Christian Response to the 'Ground Zero Mosque'

by Staff
July 14, 2010

ST PETERSBURG, Fla., (christiansunite.com) -- Bill Keller, leader of the world's largest interactive Christian website for 11 years, Liveprayer.com, will open this September the 9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero as a Christian response to the mosque the Muslims are building just blocks away.

Keller said that rather than hold a protest that people will forget an hour after it is over, he wanted to take an ongoing stand against this new mosque in a bold, visible, and meaningful way.

Keller stated that he sees this as an incredible opportunity to take a stand for Christ within a block of the hallowed ground where the World Trade Center Towers once stood, and give people a place where they can come to pray and find true peace and hope at a time when so many lives are in turmoil.

Keller is no stranger to conflict with Islam. In 2007, under pressure from the extremist Muslim group CAIR, Keller's highly rated nightly TV program that ran for 4 1/2 years on a CBS owned station in Tampa, Florida, was cancelled by CBS because he refused to stop telling his viewers that "according to the Bible Islam is a 1400-year-old lie from hell, and that history clearly shows Mohammed was a murdering pedophile who propagated his false religion through hatred, violence, and death."

Keller also has numerous fatwas (sentences of death) issued against him for a video he sent in 2006 to Osama Bin Laden that was played worldwide in which Keller encouraged Bin Laden to "renounce the lies of Islam" and come to faith in Jesus Christ.

In asking Keller about what he hopes to accomplish with the new 9-11 Christian Center, he said, "If the Muslims can without conscience build a mosque to propagate their religion of violence and hated a block away from where their Muslim brothers perpetrated the greatest act of terror on US soil, killing 3,000 innocent souls in the process, we can open a place where people can come to hear the truth of the Bible and learn about the peace, love, and saving grace of Jesus Christ"

Keller's 9-11 Christian Center will begin holding services Sunday, September 5th at the Embassy Suites New York through the end of the year. They will move into their permanent facility on January 1st.
source:http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion09496.shtml

The Heart of the Matter

From blog of Mosab Hassan Yousef.
=====================================

I am posting the article that Gonen and I wrote for The Washington Post before the deportation hearing because, in it, we were able to express some very important things that have gotten lost in the media mist.

First, the Department of Homeland Security’s campaign to send me back to the Palestinian territories and to certain death was a test of America’s moral strength and the precious freedoms that are too often taken for granted.

Second, the deep, enduring friendship that developed between Gonen and me shouts to the world that peace in that region is definitely possible.

WHY DEPORT A FRIEND TO MIDDLE EAST PEACE?

By Mosab Hassan Yousef and Gonen ben Itzhak, Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Ours is an unlikely friendship. Gonen ben Itzhak is an Israeli, the son of a retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general who was in charge of defeating the first intifada some 20 years ago. Mosab Hassan Yousef is a Palestinian, the son of a founder of Hamas whose father was one of the leaders of that intifada. The Palestinians’ goal for the intifada was to elevate their cause. Israel sought to keep violence down and protect its citizens. Today we are sacrificing everything—possibly even our lives—to build a bridge of peace between our peoples.

As detailed in the book Son of Hamas, published this year, we became partners in the fight against terrorism; Mosab became an undercover agent for the Shin Bet, Israel’s security service; Gonen became his Shin Bet handler. In the nine years we worked together, the two of us, once sworn enemies, embraced mutual recognition and rejected the mindset of revenge.

All the efforts of Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization failed to achieve the goals of the intifada. All the efforts of the IDF failed to stop the hate that fueled the intifada.

Mosab observed firsthand the craziness of the cycle of violence. Mosab began to question who his real enemies were: the Hamas leaders who tortured their fellow Palestinian prisoners, or the Shin Bet, who arrested and imprisoned him. Over the 16 months that Mosab was in prison, the answer became clear, and this persuaded Mosab to go undercover for the Shin Bet. Gonen, whose code name was “Captain Loai,” became Mosab’s handler. Mosab’s reports led to the arrests of several high-ranking Palestinian figures. As we worked together to prevent the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians, the two of us became friends.

We believe that friendships like ours are key to eliminating hate and promoting the liberty that both our peoples so desperately desire.

Mosab converted to Christianity in 2005 and moved to California in 2007. America has a vision of a world where liberty reigns. When Mosab brought terrorists to justice while working undercover for the Shin Bet, he was American at heart, fighting for liberty and justice.

Mosab has lived in this country for more than two years. We were shocked when, in 2009, the Department of Homeland Security opposed his request for political asylum, all the more so when it threatened to deport Mosab in the name of protecting American security. If this decision is upheld, it will signal to the world that America does not stand by those who sacrifice to oppose terrorism. If America wants liberty to prevail in all places, it must not abandon those who share the ideals of freedom.

Gathering human intelligence in the war against terrorism will become impossible if the United States does not protect those who risk their lives on behalf of American values.

Mosab was born a son of Hamas, but he rejected his violent destiny and found the strength to choose a different path. But having left revenge behind, he faces possible deportation as payback for embracing the ideal of loving his enemy.

When an immigration judge in California decides about Mosab’s future on Wednesday, the ramifications will be much greater than whether he is sent back to certain death anywhere in the Middle East. It is a decision about the future of liberty and about the best path to peace.

Whatever happens in San Diego, we hope that our story can be a bridge to peace. Peace is a state of mind and heart before it is a political reality. Our friendship is proof that hating hearts can change — and that changed hearts are the only hope for liberty.
source:http://sonofhamas.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/the-heart-of-the-matter/