It's okay to be disappointed

Lean on your supports

Focus on hope and the Grace of God

 A controversy is raging over Israel’s proposed legislation aimed at muffling the five daily Muslim calls to prayer from local mosques. In recent decades, the call of the muezzin has been amplified by multiple loudspeakers, resulting in tremendous noise pollution starting at 4:30 AM every morning. While Jewish residents have been most vocal in complaining about the muezzin loudspeakers, local Muslims have expressed outrage over the bill, which last week gained approval from PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. Arab Members of Knesset say the bill will limit religious freedom for Muslims in the country, and the Palestinian Authority has threatened to take the matter to the UN Security Council. But when pressed on the issue, many local Muslims admit that the volume of the muezzin’s call is excessive. Nor has similar legislation in Muslim countries ever elicited such opposition. In Egypt, for example, the use of loudspeakers to amplify the muezzin’s call is restricted. Muslim scholars at Al-Azhar University previously determined that the loudspeakers are a modern invention, and therefore have nothing to do with the Islamic law that mandates calling the faithful to prayer.

In 2011 the UAE limited the volume of mosque loudspeakers following repeated complaints by Muslim residents. In June 2015, Indonesia’s vice president established an investigative committee to look into the problem of noise pollution caused by mosque loudspeakers. As the largest Muslim population country in the world, Indonesia has hundreds of thousands of mosques all blaring their calls to prayer at the same time. Even in Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam, the government ruled that calls to prayer could only be amplified by a mosque’s indoor loudspeakers, and no longer using the loudspeakers fixed to the top of the minaret. In Europe, Switzerland decided nine years ago to ban minarets altogether, and in Cologne, Germany approval to build a new mosque was only granted in 2007 after the local Muslim community undertook in write not to use loudspeakers to amplify its calls to prayer. None of these decisions resulted in international crises. There are many Muslims in the Jerusalem area who can’t stand the daily harassment of the loudspeakers. But the moment Israel’s government dares to intervene (and in exactly the same way as Muslims governments have in recent years) it is accused of being discriminatory and racist. (Israel Today) [Comment]

 A senior Iranian military commander predicted on 21 Nov. 2016 that the Palestinian Arabs would "get rid of Israel” in the next 10 years. Speaking to students near Tehran, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi said the Palestinian territories will be "freed from Israel's occupation” within a decade, expressing hope that the ideology that led to Iran's Islamic Revolution would help the Arabs to eliminate Israel. Naqdi further claimed that the Islamic Revolution helped Iran get rid of the United States over 35 years ago, rescued the country from Saddam Hussein's aggression and helped the Lebanese to get rid of the Americans as well.

"The comments are another example of the anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric that is constantly spoken by Iranian officials. Chief among them is Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has referred to Israel as a "cancer” and in the past threatened to "annihilate" the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. In March 2016 the Supreme Leader ruled out his country having ties with the United States or "the Zionist regime” – that is, Israel – claiming he had proof that the United States was planning a coup in Iran. In May of this year a senior Iranian military commander threatened Israel and claimed that his country can destroy the Jewish state "in less than eight minutes”. Earlier this month, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, claimed Israel is the biggest threat to humanity, world peace and international security. (Arutz-7) God’s word promises in spite of Iran’s violent rhetoric against the Jewish state:"Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations.” Joel 3: 20

A dedication ceremony was held Tues. morning 22 Nov. 2016 at the Masada National Park, for the Dead Sea Research Institute, in which Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Authority scientists will work together to study the endangered Dead Sea in order to find ways to rehabilitate it and the region around it. The institute was established under the aegis of the International Cooperation Ministry. Additional partners are the Tamar Regional Council, Tel Aviv University, the Jewish National Fund and the National Parks Authority. Studies carried out by the institute will concentrate on issues such as climate and environmental medicine and health; flora and fauna, environment, geology, archaeology, as well as bio- and nano-technology. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

According to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Jerusalem police have stopped the terror wave, thanks to their hard work and the unprecedented strengthening of security in the city. A recent report reveals that the number of terrorist attacks in Jerusalem has dropped by 40%. Jerusalem district police officials, reported that, although the number of incidents is still great, the changes in the enforcement of public security have been the main factor in this drop. Minister Erdan explained that "this is the first time since the reunification of the city that police positions have been established in East Jerusalem neighborhoods. In the coming years, they will be joined by more police and security officers who will significantly strengthen security in these areas.” However, on the roads of Judea and Samaria, and particularly in Gush Etzion and the Har Hevron area, the situation has gotten worse. In these areas, there has been a rise in rock attacks.” The Security Division of the Mount Hebron Regional Council continuously monitors the throwing of stones and Molotov cocktails on the roads, and their data shows that after a period of calm, there is now a marked increase in these attacks. (Arutz-7) Please intercede that terrorist incidents in and around Jerusalem would continue to decline and that rock throwing and Molotov cocktails attacks would be thwarted on Israel’s roads. [Comment]

Humility in all things

This is time for show, not tell

This is an invitation

 French investigators have identified a Syria-based extremist of dual Belgian and Moroccan nationality as a suspected coordinator of attacks in Paris and Brussels, sources close to the case said Tues. 8 Nov. 2016. Oussama Atar, a 32-year-old thought to be a member of the ISIS group, was already a suspect in the Brussels attacks on 22 March 2016, but has now been linked to the 13 Nov. 2015 atrocities in Paris. "He's the only coordinator from Syria to have been identified during the investigations," one of the sources said. French investigators have long suspected that the Paris attacks, in which teams of jihadists killed 130 people, were coordinated by one or several people from Syria, but have never named anyone before. Atar, believed to go by the pseudonym Abou Ahmad, is a cousin of the El Bakraoui brothers who blew themselves up in the Brussels airport and metro attacks. Another two cousins, Moustapha and Jawad Benhattal, were arrested on 18 June 2016, on suspicion of planning an attack in Belgium during a public screening of a Euro 2016 football match, Belgian media reported at the time. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

Americans fed up with eight years of a sluggish economy and a growing disconnect with their leaders in Washington voted Tues. 8 Nov. 2016 to send businessman and political novice Donald Trump to the White House, guaranteeing one of the biggest shakeups in political history. Wins in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin gave him enough projected electoral votes to defeat former first lady, former senator and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose quarter-century in Washington - and the long list of stumbles, including a scandal over a secret email server - made her anathema for too many voters. Mrs. Clinton had been seeking to make history as the first woman to win the White House, but instead the 70-year-old Mr. Trump made history of another sort, becoming the first person elected to the top job without having held a high government office or military command. His victory upends a Washington establishment that voters said had lost touch with folks back home, and is a searing rebuke to President Obama, who had pleaded with voters that his hope-and-change agenda was at stake in this election. (Washington Times) For all who have hoped for change, who have interceded for the presidential election outcomes, prayed for voting wisdom and shown up at the polls, thank you for making your voices heard…. [Comment]

President-elect Donald Trump invited PM Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with him in the United States at the earliest opportunity. Netanyahu had called Trump to congratulate him on his electoral victory earlier in the day. The invitation came during that phone call. Netanyahu assured Trump that the United States has no better ally than Israel as they discussed regional issues. The conversation between them was heartfelt and warm. Both men have known each other for many years, the PMO’s office said. In addition, Trump’s inner circle is very close to the Netanyahu and to Israel. Netanyahu told Trump that he and his wife Sara looked forward to meeting him and his wife Melania. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu had issued a statement in which he said that Trump is a "true friend” of the State of Israel. "I look forward to working with him to advance security, stability and peace in our region,” Netanyahu said. "The ironclad bond between the United States and Israel is rooted in shared values, buttressed by shared interests and driven by a shared destiny. I am confident that President-elect Trump and I will continue to strengthen the unique alliance between our two countries and bring it to ever greater heights,” Netanyahu said. (Jerusalem Post) [Comment]