Hamas vows to ‘liberate’ Jerusalem on 35th birthday

Hamas announced on Wednesday the launch of a series of events in the Gaza Strip to mark the 35th anniversary of its founding. The events will include military parades and rallies in several areas of the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave and are expected to reach their peak on December 14 with a major rally in Gaza City.

This year’s anniversary comes at a time when Hamas appears to be as strong, popular and defiant as ever, especially in the Gaza Strip.

In 2006, the Islamist movement won the elections for the Palestinian parliament, the Palestinian Legislative Council. A year later, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip through a violent coup that led to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.

Since then, various attempts to undermine Hamas or remove it from power have been unsuccessful. Most of the attempts were carried out by Israel and the PA.

Hamas has also faced a boycott by many Arab and Western countries. This, too, appears to have had little effect on Hamas, which continues to rule the Gaza Strip without facing any substantial challenges from home or abroad. READ MORE

Israeli energy firm signs joint natural gas exploration deal with Morocco

Israel’s NewMed Energy on Tuesday announced it has signed a deal with Morocco and Adarco Energy for offshore natural gas exploration and production licenses in the north African kingdom.

Under the terms of the agreements, NewMed and Adarco will each hold a 37.5 percent stake in the Boujdour Atlantique exploration license, located off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean. Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines will own the remaining 25%.

“We have long identified enormous potential in Morocco and today’s announcement is part of an extensive strategic move that will render NewMed Energy the leading energy body in the East Mediterranean region and North Africa,” NewMed CEO Yossi Abu said in a statement. READ MORE

IDF chief said vowing to stop Smotrich interference in appointing army generals

Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Aviv Kohavi vowed to stop far-right Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich from being able to nominate military generals for two key positions, according to Monday reports.

Smotrich has been seeking influence over West Bank policy in coalition negotiations with Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and has secured the right to nominate candidates for positions overseeing much of the territory.

“I won’t allow any interference in the appointment of IDF generals. There is no possibility of this happening,” Kohavi was quoted as saying by Channel 13 news during closed conversations.

The Haaretz daily reported similar comments from Kohavi and said that incoming IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi agrees with him. Halevi is due to take over as military chief in January. READ MORE

Gantz to likely successor: You’ll be 2nd-class minister, tasked with dismantling IDF

Outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday warned that his likely successor will have to actively guard against military powers being peeled off and handed out to far-right members of the prospective coalition.

Netanyahu inked a coalition deal with Religious Zionism that grants it extensive influence over Israeli civil activities in the West Bank, after previously agreeing to shift control over Border Police operating there to extremist Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben Gvir.

MK Yoav Gallant, a retired general in Netanyahu’s Likud party, is expected to be the next defense minister.

“I would like to say to my replacement, whoever it may be: If you take the position as it is presented to you, your task will be to become the contractor for the dismantling of the security apparatus and the IDF,” Gantz said at his National Unity party’s faction meeting. READ MORE

International Criminal Court prosecutor says he aims to ‘visit Palestine’ in 2023

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said this week that he plans to “visit Palestine” next year.

Karim Khan made the remark on Monday at the 21st session of the Hague-based court’s Assembly of State Parties, adding that he also intended to visit Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to human rights activists who were at the session and posted updates from it via Twitter.

Speaking about the places he has visited, Khan said that “God willing,” he would visit those locations in 2023, presumably as part of probes the court is leading, including into possible Israeli and Palestinian war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank during a war in the summer of 2014 and afterward.

Israel’s Kan public broadcaster said the ICC had confirmed that “a visit to Palestine is one of the prosecutor’s goals for next year.” READ MORE

Biden officials said to hold talk on how to handle incoming Israeli government

White House officials reportedly held a meeting last week to discuss how to best deal with the expected far-right incoming Israeli government.

According to the report in Axios, a forum within the National Security Council known as the “deputies committee” met to discuss how to engage with the incoming coalition, which is expected to include multiple extremist ministers.

The group of officials did not make any final decisions on the issue.

An official familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel that US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides is currently not planning to meet with Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party who prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has tapped to become the next national security minister.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the White House would judge the next government “by the policies and procedures, rather than individual personalities.”

Far-right MK Maoz: Forms of ‘liberal religion’ are ‘darkness’ that must be expelled

MK Avi Maoz of the extremist anti-LGBT party Noam sparked outrage Wednesday after comparing the outgoing government to the Hellenizing Jews cast as the villains of the Hanukkah story.

Maoz, a far-right firebrand set to be given sway over curriculum in school and a new “Jewish identity” office as part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s nascent coalition, delivered a diatribe at the Knesset against the “darkness” of progressive values to the sound of heckles and boos from fuming lawmakers across the aisle.

“The spirit that the Greeks and the Hellenists tried to instill in the Jewish people is the real darkness,” Maoz said, after singing several lines from the popular Hanukkah song “We Came to Expel the Darkness.” READ MORE

IDF concludes Eastern Breeze exercise with French military

Today (Tuesday) marked the end of the Eastern Breeze international exercise, in which the IAF and the French Air and Space Force (FASF) practiced aerial cooperation in Israel’s skies.

4 FASF Rafale aircraft participated in the exercise alongside IAF F-16i aircraft from the 201st Squadron.

As part of the exercise, the French carrier strike group arrived in the Mediterranean Sea. IAF and FASF air crews flew “wing-to-wing” while practicing joint strikes and counteracting aerial threats in an effort to share knowledge and benefit from one another. The exercise was an important milestone in the development of the strategic cooperation between the IAF and the FASF and improved the forces’ readiness.

Eastern Breeze is one of many international exercises that have taken place recently as part of the 2022 training program.

Commanding Officer of the Ramon Air Force Base, Col. G, said: “This week, an exercise with the French Air and Space Force that included Israeli F-16is and French Rafales was held. Together, we conducted high-quality and challenging training that combined a number of elements, which resulted in improved proficiency on both sides and closer ties between the nations and militaries.”

Nikki Haley: Peace in Middle East will only happen if US stands with Israel

Former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley last night (Tuesday) addressed a special audience of Jewish leaders and community members in Montreal, Canada. The event was hosted by the Federation CIJA, the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), and Margaret and Sylvan Adams. Participants included leaders from across the Jewish community as well as community members who are senior figures in broader political, cultural and economic spheres.

Addressing the some 200 Jewish leaders in the audience, former Ambassador Haley stressed the importance of the role of the United States in the Middle East, and the impact that had on stability in the region.

She noted, “The only way peace happens in the Middle East is if the US stands strongly and steadfastly with Israel”, and said that, “A strong America prevents war. At the end of the day, it’s about leadership, and America has to demonstrate that leadership, including absolute support for its allies like Israel.”

Reflecting on the historic impact of the Abraham Accords, Haley said, ““The Abraham Accords was the point in time the Emiratis had the courage to tell their constituency the truth about Israel. And it has transformed the region.”

Thanking former Ambassador Haley for her dedication and friendship to the Jewish community, philanthropist Sylvan Adams said, “Today, the Jewish community around the world is suffering from an increase in antisemitism, and Israel remains on high alert from the growing Iranian nuclear threat – both of which are issues which Ambassador Haley courageously fought to combat on the world stage.”

Gail Adelson-Marcovitz, National Chair of CIJA, added, “Jewish leadership are increasingly on the front line of advocacy for the Jewish people and Jewish state. These types of events are incredibly valuable in providing them with the necessary insights to serve as effective spokespeople for the Jewish community, and we are grateful to Sylvan Adams for facilitating such opportunities.” 

More Professing Atheists & Humanists Legislating Morality From Public Office

Atheism and humanism are on the rise, as the number of elected members filling state and federal seats who profess no belief in God increases from only five before 2016, to upward of 70 after the most recent election cycle -- a sharp shift from the Judeo-Christian values that have defined America since its founding. 

The Center for Freethought Equality (CFE) sees this increase as progress towards a "safer, saner, stronger, and more secular America," celebrating "continued gains for the humanist and atheist community in the electoral arena."

Atheism "rejects the existence of God or any gods." Humanism "is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good," or simply put, in the American Humanist Association's tagline, the belief that "Good Without God," is achievable. READ MORE

Top military intel officer: West Bank violence only going to get worse

A top Israeli intelligence official said Monday he believed the escalating situation in the West Bank would only get worse in the coming year and that Israel was not  merely facing a “wave of terror,” as many officials have described it.

The head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Research Department, Brig. Gen. Amit Saar, said the rising violence in the West Bank will be Israel’s second most challenging issue in 2023, after Iran.

Speaking at a conference hosted by Gazit, a military think tank, Saar said: “People can say nothing has changed… the terror is seasonal, every few years we have a wave and afterward it calms down and comes back. There are people in the security establishment who believe this to be the case, but I think otherwise.

“I think we need to examine what we have seen in recent months — not through the [prism of the] number of attacks, but the causes,” he said. READ MORE

Claim: Apple crushes dissent in America and China

The largest lockdown uprising in China took place at facilities run by Apple’s Foxconn supplier where workers had previously jumped to their deaths. After thousands fled the Apple gulag, making their way through the woods and rural areas to freedom, other employees battled with Communist authorities over abusive conditions and treatment.

Apple had nothing to say about the rights of those workers who thought differently enough to break free and fight back. If they were foolish enough to have iPhones, there’s little doubt the company would have eagerly helped authorities track them down.

“Think Different”, Apple’s slogan, actually means collaborating with a Communist dictatorship where thinking differently is a crime. And it also means suppressing free speech in America.

That’s why Apple is threatening free speech on Twitter just as it’s threatening it in Shanghai.

But that is what the company has always been behind the reality distortion field of its ads. “Think Different” has never meant anything other than, “Shut up and do what the visionaries tell you.” READ MORE

Normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia inevitable

Saudi Arabia is working towards normalizing its relations with Israel, i24NEWS reported Tuesday, though full ties will take time.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir met with American Jewish leaders several weeks ago, telling them that formal ties between his country and the Jewish state are inevitable, but will also take time.

"The direction of Saudi-Israeli relations is normalization, but it will take more time and we must not put the cart before the horse," Al-Jubeir was quoted as saying in an official document obtained by i24NEWS.

"Israel and other Gulf states have been gradually normalizing for years. The process must be allowed to mature.”

One American Jewish Committee official who met with Al-Jubeir said the Saudi foreign minister said the establishment of formal relations with Israel are “only a question of timing.”

The report also noted that last month Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presented a list of conditions to the White House for Saudi Arabia to move forward with normalization. The Palestinian Authority and the Israel-Palestinian conflict were not mentioned.

The Saudi leader’s primary demands communicated to the Biden administration were his call for a formal affirmation of the US alliance with Saudi Arabia, a deal enabling the Saudis to use their uranium reserves to develop a civilian nuclear program, and an American commitment to arm Saudi Arabia comparable to the US commitment to fellow NATO states.

Banking Elites Are Using Crypto Bloodbath And FTX Fraud To Justify CBDCs

Central bankers and international corporate financiers have long been pretending to hate the very concept of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherium while at the same time investing heavily in blockchain technologies and infrastructure.  The purpose of the ruse is not clear, but more than likely it was an attempt at mass reverse psychology - “We don't like crypto and digital currencies because we supposedly have no control over them; free market proponents should embrace them blindly because that is how you will beat us.”

In the meantime, while major banking firms are investing billions into various blockchain products, central banks and global institutions like the BIS and IMF have been developing their own systems.  In fact, the BIS notes with enthusiasm that around 90% of central banks around the world are already in the process of adopting CBDCs. 

But why would anyone want to use government and establishment bank controlled cryptocurrencies when they have access to Bitcoin and dozens of other coins that are supposedly independent?  Why trade freedom for more centralization?

First, existing cryptocurrencies are not as free as many people believe, with ample government tracking of blockchain transactions in place for years, the notion of the completely anonymous crypto user is a bit of a fantasy, and the idea that a product such as Bitcoin is going to “bring down” the central banks is becoming less realistic by the year. 

Iran may be able to build 'crude' nukes within 6 months - report

Iran may be launching an accelerated effort to achieve a few “crude” nuclear weapons in only six months, a new think tank report, obtained first by The Jerusalem Post, has warned.

According to Monday’s report by Institute for Science and International Security president David Albright, even though top Israeli officials just recently told the Post that the Islamic Republic’s weapons group is two years away from being able to deliver a nuclear warhead via ballistic missile, there could be a much more pressing threat.

Although in popular discussions, this option is often referred to as a “dirty” or “suitcase nuclear bomb,” the truth is much more complex – but still quite threatening. READ MORE

Lockheed Martin joins Iron Beam project to build variant of system for US market

US defense contractor Lockheed Martin on Monday signed an agreement with the Israeli Rafael weapons manufacturer to join the development of a high-powered laser interception system, dubbed Iron Beam.

In a statement, Lockheed Martin said the cooperation would be geared toward developing, testing, and manufacturing a variant of the Iron Beam system for the American market as well as others.

The Iron Beam is designed to work in tandem with systems like Iron Dome and shoot down smaller projectiles.

Israel has hoped to partner with Washington on the Iron Beam project, including American investment in further development and deployment of the system. In July, US President Joe Biden toured a Defense Ministry display of Israel’s multi-tier air defense systems, including the Iron Beam.

Rafael CEO Yoav Har-Even on Monday hailed the “strategic agreement,” saying it would “expand and diversify the capabilities” the company has to offer to its customers. READ MORE

‘Too little too late’: Iranian activists brush off claims morality police abolished

PARIS, France (AFP) — Campaigners backing Iran’s protest movement on Monday dismissed a claim that the Islamic Republic is disbanding its notorious morality police, insisting there was no change to its restrictive dress rules for women.

There were also calls on social media for a three-day strike, more than two months into the wave of civil unrest sparked by the death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran.

Amini was accused of flouting Iran’s strict dress code demanding women wear modest clothing and the hijab headscarf, and her death sparked protests that have spiraled into the biggest challenge to the regime since the 1979 Islamic revolution. READ MORE

Lapid to Likud: Cancel deal with Avi Maoz

Prime Minister Yair Lapis slammed the incoming government, which has yet to be sworn-in, over the coalition agreement giving Nam party leader MK Avi Maoz control over external programming at Israeli schools.

"Benjamin Netanyahu already knows that he made a grave mistake when he gave Avi Maoz control over the educational programs that go into our children's schools. He just can't retract it, because he is weak and they realized that he could be blackmailed because of his trial," Lapid said at the weekly Yesh Atid faction meeting Monday.

"So I'm turning from here to the Likud, there are still people there with a sense of national responsibility. I call on them - come back. Cancel the agreement with Maoz. You cannot do this to the children of Israel nor to their parents. You made a mistake, you should admit you made a mistake and make amends," he said. READ MORE

US ambassador: I will march in Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem

US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, appeared on Galei Tzahal this morning (Monday). Nides discussed Netanyahu's emerging government and Noam's Avi Maoz's promises to cancel the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem.

The ambassador also referred to the media storm caused by Avi Maoz's statement that he would work to cancel the Pride Parade. "We will make sure that the rights of the LGBT people are preserved. I marched in the pride parades in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv last year and have every intention of doing so again this year as well," he pointed out. "I have full confidence that the rights of the LGBT community are preserved."  READ MORE

Putin's unusual request of Israel

Senior Israeli and Russian officials have been holding talks in recent days, Kan 11 News reported on Sunday.

According to the report, the purpose of the conversations was, among other things, to make sure that Israel would not interfere with the transfer of air defense measures that Russia is taking out of Syrian territory to the Ukrainian area.

Reshet Bet radio reported that a Russian official who is close to the Kremlin warned about a week ago that a Russian loss on the battlefield could lead to a wave of antisemitism against Jews. According to the report, the Russian official told an Israeli official, "The fact that Russia is losing the war in Ukraine will cause a search for scapegoats."

The same official added that the common denominator between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders will lead to antisemitism on the Russian side. The message sent by the Russian leader is that Putin is the one who is preventing a wave of antisemitism from breaking out.

Smotrich doubles down on bid to amend Law of Return

Less than a day after Opposition Leader and Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu publicly downplayed the possibility Israel could amend its Law of Return, the Religious Zionist Party vowed it will continue to press for the removal of the “grandfather clause” from the law.

Passed in 1950, the Law of Return guarantees the legal right of members of recognized Jewish communities to immigrate to Israel and receive citizenship.

In 1970, Israel broadened the law, adding what has come to be known as the “grandfather clause,” enabling would-be immigrants with at least one Jewish grandparent, as well as the spouses of Jews, to claim Israeli citizenship.

While the number of non-Jews claiming Israeli citizenship under the grandfather clause was small in the 1970s and 1980s, it rose significantly during the wave of immigration from Eastern Europe in the 1990s and early 2000s.

All five of the Likud’s allied factions on the Right – including the Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, Noam, Shas, and United Torah Judaism – have endorsed plans to amend the Law of Return and remove the grandfather clause. READ MORE

Iran building new nuclear power plant in southwest of country

Iran is building a new 300-megawatt nuclear power plant along the Karun river in the southwest of the country, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced on Saturday.

The nuclear power plant will use a pressurized water reactor system and function off of uranium oxide enriched to about 4%.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, launched the construction of the plant in Darkhovin, located about 70 kilometers south of Ahvaz in the Khuzestan Province.

The plant will take about eight years to complete and cost about $2 billion. The mechanical equipment used in the plant will be built by domestic companies.

"The construction of this power plant is an old program that was stopped for years due to the bad faith of foreigners who abandoned the work, and today the first part of its operation including the preparation of the land for the construction of the site and the main building of the power plant, began," said Eslami on Saturday. READ MORE

Following rocket fire: IDF attacks Hamas weapons manufacturing site

In response to the rocket fired toward Israeli territory, IDF fighter jets targeted overnight Saturday a weapons manufacturing site belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the target that was struck is used as a main manufacturing site of the Hamas terrorist organization where the majority of the organization’s rockets in the Gaza Strip are being manufactured.

In addition, the IDF struck a Hamas terrorist tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

“The strike overnight continues the progress to impede the force build up of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said. WATCH

Iran announces disbandment of 'morality police'

Iran's Attorney General, Mohammad Jaafar Montazeri, announced the dissolution of the Morality Police following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, and months of widespread protests that followed.

On Saturday, Iranian authorities said they were reviewing a decades-old law that requires women to cover their heads in public, AFP reported.

"Both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)" of whether the law needs any changes, Montazeri was quoted as saying at the time, adding that, "The review team met on Wednesday with parliament's cultural commission "and will see the results in a week or two."

Montazeri did not specify what could be modified in the law by the two bodies, which are largely in the hands of conservatives.

The announcement comes as protests in Iran continue following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, after she was arrested for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women based on Sharia law. READ MORE

UN Votes To Hold Annual Event Memorializing Israel's Founding As A 'Catastrophe'

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Wednesday to hold an event commemorating Israel's establishment as a "catastrophe."

In a majority, 90 member countries voted in favor of the move with 30 dissenting, and 47 abstaining from the vote, according to the Jerusalem Post. The United States and most of the European Union came out against the proposal. 

The word "Nakba" is an Arabic word meaning catastrophe, according to the Jerusalem Post. The Palestinians use to the term to refer to Israel's establishment in 1948, which is observed annually on May 15.

In 1948, the British Mandate expired allowing Israel to announce the formation of a Jewish state and its independence. The Palestinians, however, claim the day as a time of mourning due to the displacement of their people following the Palestinian government's rejection of the two-state proposal put forth by the United Nations in 1947. READ MORE

Digital Currency Sooner Than You Think - 90% Of Central Banks Getting Ready

Central bankers and international corporate financiers have long been pretending to hate the very concept of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, while at the same time investing heavily in blockchain technologies and infrastructure.  

The purpose of the ruse is not clear, but more than likely it was an attempt at mass reverse psychology - "We don't like crypto and digital currencies because we supposedly have no control over them; free market proponents should embrace them blindly because that is how you will beat us."

In the meantime, while major banking firms are investing billions into various blockchain products, central banks and global institutions like the BIS and IMF have been developing their own systems.  In fact, the BIS notes with enthusiasm that around 90% of central banks around the world are already in the process of adopting CBDCs.

But why would anyone want to use government and establishment bank-controlled cryptocurrencies when they have access to Bitcoin and dozens of other coins that are supposedly independent?  Why trade freedom for more centralization? READ MORE

Syria resisting Russia's efforts to broker Turkey summit amid invasion threat

Syria is resisting Russian efforts to broker a summit with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, three sources said on Friday, after more than a decade of bitter enmity since the outbreak of Syria's civil war.

Erdogan's government supports rebel fighters who tried to topple President Bashar al-Assad and has accused the Syrian leader of state terrorism, saying earlier in the conflict that peace efforts could not continue under his rule.

Assad says it is Turkey that has backed terrorism by supporting an array of fighters including Islamist factions and launching repeated military incursions inside northern Syria. Ankara is readying another possible operation, after blaming Syrian Kurdish fighters for a bombing in Istanbul.

Russia helped Assad turn the tide of the war in his favor and says it is seeking a political end to the conflict and wants to bring the two leaders together for talks.

Erdogan hopes to 'get things on track with Syria'

Erdogan has signaled readiness for rapprochement.

Speaking a week after he shook hands with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last month, after repeatedly saying he could not meet a leader who came to power in a coup, he said Turkey could "also get things on track with Syria."

"There can be no resentment in politics," he said in a televised discussion at the weekend. READ MORE

Poll: 6 in 10 Israelis fear for democracy as Netanyahu finalizes hardline coalition

Roughly six in 10 Israelis are concerned about the future of Israeli democracy, according to a poll released Friday as prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu moved closer to finalizing his next government with a group of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.

Sixty-one percent of respondents to a Channel 12 survey said they were worried about the future of Israeli democracy, while 35% said they were not.

The survey found that 41% of respondents who voted for parties in the Netanyahu-led right-wing religious bloc said they were concerned, compared to 82% of respondents who voted for parties in the anti-Netanyahu bloc who said the same.

Respondents were also asked whether the National Unity party led by outgoing-Defense Minister Benny Gantz should enter Netanyahu’s government, ostensibly instead of one or more of the far-right Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit and Noam parties. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said yes, while 46% said no. Among the anti-Netanyahu bloc voters, 63% said that Gantz should agree to enter the Likud-led coalition. READ MORE

Homeland Security warns of domestic terror threats against US Jews

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned in a terrorism advisory bulletin on Wednesday about ongoing threats to the American Jewish community from domestic extremists.

The advisory also cautioned that the LGBT and migrant communities were also in danger from extremists, NBC News reported.

A senior DHS officials said during a briefing that Americans who have become radicalized by violent ideologies are a “persistent and lethal threat.”

The advisory was a summary of the latest terrorism threats from domestic extremists. The document has been updated every six months since the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in 2021.

The advisory stressed that there continues to be an “enduring threat” against the American Jewish community.

The senior DHS official confirmed that recent antisemitic remarks by Kanye West have led to increased threats against the Jewish community. The official added that any celebrity or high profile figure who makes similar statements encourages violence from extremists.

BREAKING: Iran Declares it Can Now Produce a Nuclear Bomb; Israel STRIKES Hamas

U.N. Says Israel Must GIVE UP Its Nuclear Weapons; Iran Gets a Pass?

12 Signs The World Is Running Out Of Normal

Many people say that today is no different than any other time in history. "Sure, things look bad now, but this was also the case during World Wars I and II. Things have a way of working out so that things eventually return to some semblance of normal."

I understand why many question Jesus' soon return given the fact that it's been two thousand years since He promised to return.

In spite of the long wait, I'm convinced that Jesus' appearing is imminent because of the myriad of signs telling us that the Tribulation period is right on our doorstep.

I have compiled a list of 12 signs that tell us we are rapidly running out of normal.

If you are weary of waiting and long for the day when you will meet Jesus in the air, I am writing to encourage you; He's coming soon.

If you doubt that the Rapture will happen anytime soon, please take some time to review the following points: READ MORE

Israel confronted ‘Hezbollah 2’ in Syria, but what’s its end goal? - analysis

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said this week that Israel prevented the formation of a “Hezbollah 2” in Syria.

For many years, Israel has been seeking to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria, dating back to when the Syrian civil war began in earnest in 2012. This has led to tensions with Israel, especially when Hezbollah sent forces to Syria and when those forces ended up closer to the Golan in 2018.

Now, several years later, Israel is continuing to face Iranian threats in Syria as well as in the wider region. How did this come about and what might the prevention of Hezbollah 2 mean for Israel?

Iran has been an ally of the Syrian regime already before the civil war broke out. Iran also backed Hezbollah for many decades before. Since the 2006 Lebanon War, tensions between Hezbollah and Israel were kept to a relative minimum.

This is not because Hezbollah is less threatening. In fact, Hezbollah has grown quite a bit since 2006, increasing its missile arsenal and its drones and precision-guided missile stocks. It has also flown drones into Israeli airspace and threatened gas platforms located off the Lebanese coast. After the recently signed maritime deal, Hezbollah claimed it got what it wanted from it. READ MORE

Netanyahu gives Smotrich broad powers over settlements, Palestinian construction

Prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu granted far-right leader Bezalel Smotrich extensive powers over Israeli settlements and Palestinian construction in the West Bank as part of a coalition deal signed on Thursday between Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party and Netanyahu’s Likud.

Under the agreement, authority over the settlement and open lands divisions in the powerful Civil Administration and Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit will be handed to a Religious Zionism minister based in the Defense Ministry, a spokesperson for the party confirmed.

Channel 12 reported that this minister will likely be Smotrich himself, who will also be taking over the Treasury under the agreement, though the party said that has yet to be finalized.

The sensitive appointment will give Religious Zionism control over key aspects of civil life in the West Bank’s Area C, including parts of the Civil Administration governing Israeli and Palestinian construction there. The prospect of handing such powers to Religious Zionism, with its pro-annexation agenda, has been criticized by some as tantamount to annexing areas of the West Bank. READ MORE