INTERNATIONAL PULSE Period: July 2008 6666666 End-Time Church / Pluralism Global Politics Israel

ISRAEL ----- IRAN: MISSILE DRILL CAUSED MASSIVE ISRAEL EMIGRATION IRNA news agency proudly reports to citizens of Islamic Republic that due to military maneuver held last week, of which evidence was said to be ´doctored´, Israelis have begun to fearfully evacuate country Iran continues to enjoy the dubious success of the military missile drill, which the Islamic Republic´s Revolutionary Guard held last week. The Iranian news agency IRNA reported to the country´s residents on Monday that the Israelis were so terrified by the display of power that it has sparked a mass emigration. Iran´s national news agencies have become famous for their hyperbolic reports on the state´s successes, and this time was no exception. According to recent reports, there has been an increase in "massive emigration from Tel Aviv following the military maneuver." The report was not actually referring to the bustling city, but rather using Tel Aviv as a general term signifying Israel, which Iran has refused to recognize or mention by name. "Following the successful maneuver executed by Iran last week, which included the firing of new missiles, Zionist residents living in occupied Palestine have begun to flee from there," the report said. "The residents told their illegitimate government that this was the reason they refused to go on living there." Continued: http://www.unitedjerusalem.org/index2.asp?id=1093987 ----- INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS ON 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF ZIONIST INDEPENDENCE DAY MAY 2008 - 1. LONDON:Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews in London joined in the Naq-ba rally to demonstrate against the creation of the so-called state of 'Israel' and the 60 years of Zionist occupation of the Holy Land. Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews around the world demonstrated in protest of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Zionist State. Demonstrations were held in London, Montreal, Jerusalem, New York City, and Beis Shemesh calling for the peaceful dismantlement of the so-called "State of Israel". The so-called "Israeli Independence Day" has been a day of mourning for traditional Jews since the creation of the Zionist State in 1948. Read about Zionist Independence Day protests in past years: http://www.nkusa.org/activities/Demonstrations/IID2008.cfm ----- PEACE PROCESS: PLO SPOKESMAN: WE'LL MAKE BIGGER IMPACT THAN JESUS By Stan Goodenough - June 27, 2008 PLO chief and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' senior spokesman Thursday asserted presumptuously that the "successful" outcome of the land-for-peace process would make a greater impact on the Middle East than that made by Jesus Christ. Saeb Erekat was speaking at a conference funded by the ultra-leftist 'Peres Center for Peace' in Tel Aviv. "If we want a peace agreement – there are only six months left. This is the time to make decisions," Erekat said. He insisted that there are solutions to the "core issues" of who will get Jerusalem, what will happen to the "Palestinian refugees," and what the final borders of Israel and Palestine will be. "The Israeli and Palestinian (sic) leaders who reach an agreement will be more important to the region's history than Jesus," Erekat proclaimed. Abbas’ man, unsurprisingly, also expressed support for the ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza-controlling Hamas terrorists who are exploiting the truce to re-arm in preparation for the next onslaught on Jewish population centers in the south. "We want the truce in Gaza to hold. It is good to give a chance for peace, and the calm is necessary for us," he said. http://www.jnewswire.com/ ----- ISRAELI LEFTESTS: PEACE WITH SYRIA WILL MEAN DAMASCUS FROM TEHRAN By Stan Goodenough - June 27, 2008 - Israelis have the choice: Either they can agree to give Syria the Golan Heights in exchange for promises of peace, or they can face a future surrounded by an Iranian belt in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. This logical-sounding argument was put forward Thursday at a conference sponsored by the Tel Aviv "Peres Center for Peace." It was made by Alon Liel, a former director-general of Israel’' foreign ministry and sold-out champion of the land-for-peace process. Syria's President Bashar el-Assad is fearful of the growing Iranian influence over his country and wants out, Liel maintained. It was Assad, rather then Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was pushing for negotiations towards a peace agreement with Israel. "I believe the reason for this is that Assad is afraid of Iran," said Liel, according to Ynetnews. "The Syrians know exactly who the Iranians are, just as we do. They also know how dependent they've become in fields like military strength and their economy. I believe they came to the conclusion that they were under a 'friendly takeover' by Iran, and that Iran may yet do to them what they did in Lebanon." To Israeli and Middle East realists, Liel's proposition, which was laden with "apparentlys," is so much wishful thinking. Continued: http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2498 ----- Lefebvrists face crisis as bishop is exposed as ‘dangerous’ anti-Semite SSPX refuses to distance itself from prelate who accuses Jews of doing work of the Anti-Christ By Anna Arco 5 March 2008 A senior bishop of the Lefebvrist Society of St Pius X (SSPX) has endorsed the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious anti-Semitic forgery that enjoys widespread currency in neo-Nazi circles. Richard Williamson, one of four bishops ordained by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, told The Catholic Herald that the document - which supposedly reveals a Jewish plot to dominate the world - was authentic. He is also on record as saying that the Jews are fighting for world domination "to prepare the Anti-Christ's throne in Jerusalem". The SSPX has refused to condemn English-born Bishop Williamson and says it has "no policy" on the authenticity of the Protocols, a Russian Czarist forgery that has been described as "a manual in Hitler's war to exterminate the Jews". The Society's support for Williamson - who also believes that the Americans planned 9/11 - is likely to end any chance of full reconciliation between the SSPX and Rome. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a Jewish human rights organisation, said this week that it is planning to take action against Williamson. Dr Shimon Samuels, the centre's director of international relations, described Williamson as "the Borat of the schismatic Catholic far-Right" and said that he was "a clown, but a dangerous clown". Williamson, 67, who was excommunicated along with Archbishop Lefebvre and now runs an SSPX seminary in Argentina, is a cult figure among ultra-Right seminarians. Some of his former students have posted video tributes to him on YouTube, in which he expounds his conspiracy theories. In 2000 Williamson endorsed the Protocols on an official SSPX website. He wrote: "God put into men's hands the Protocols of the Sages of Sion... if men want to know the truth, but few do." The SSPX's support for Williamson comes at a time when Pope Benedict has extended an olive branch to the breakaway traditionalists in the form of a liberalisation of the pre-Vatican II traditional form of the Mass. Bizarrely, Williamson last week implied that the Pope was an anti-Semite because of the Pontiff's changes to the 1962 version of the Good Friday Prayer. In an interview with the Herald, Williamson said that he himself was not an anti-Semite, but didn't like "adversaries of Our Lord Jesus Christ". He said: "If Jews are adversaries of Our Lord Jesus Christ - obviously not all of them, but those that are - then I don't like them. "My definition of anti-Semitism is to be against every single Jew purely because he's a Jew. That's not at all my case. I once had a Jewish rabbi come and speak to seminarians. Does that sound to you like anti-Semitism?" Although Williamson's anti-Semitism has been an open secret in the traditionalist Catholic world for years, there will be widespread dismay at the willingness of the SSPX headquarters to defend his views. The Rev Arnaud Sélégny, the general secretary of the SSPX General House in Menzingen, Switzerland, said Bishop Williamson would not prove an "obstacle in any reconciliation with the post-Conciliar Church" and that the Society was "sure to include Mgr Williamson if there was a reconciliation" because "everyone is allowed to have his opinion in the Society". He also said that the Society did not have a policy on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and that "the Society has no duty or ability to make a pronouncement" on the document's authenticity. According to Fr Sélégny, reconciliation with Rome "as it is" is unlikely but he hoped that "one day Rome would rediscover its Catholic tradition". Williamson himself suggested that reconciliation between the Church and the Society was impossible, as there were two churches - "the religion of man and the religion of God". He told the Herald: "The Second Vatican Council is the religion of man, of man put in the place of God. Deep down what it means is that it's a new religion, dressed up to look like the Catholic religion, but it's not the Catholic religion." The Society of St Pius X, which was founded by Archbishop Lefebvre, broke with the Church when the archbishop illicitly ordained four bishops in 1988 against Pope John Paul II's express wishes. The bishops were excommunicated. Williamson, who was educated at Winchester and Cambridge, is a former Anglican who became a Catholic in 1971. He was ordained priest at the Lefebvrist seminary at Ecône, Switzerland, in 1976. He later became rector of the SSPX seminary in Winona, Minnesota. Since 2003 he has been rector of the Seminary of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix in La Reja, Argentina. In a YouTube video, Williamson is filmed arguing that the Twin Towers were not brought down by aeroplanes but by "demolition charges". He has also condemned The Sound of Music as an immoral film because it "puts friendliness and fun in the place of authority". The Protocols of the Elders of Zion presents a Jewish plot for world domination. The text claimed to be the secret minutes from a meeting of Jewish elders conspiring to take over the world through economic manipulation, controlling the media and stoking religious conflict. Used by Czarists and the Nazi Party, among others, the Protocols have carved out a huge new readership in the Arab Middle East, according to the US State Department's Global Anti-Semitism Report. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000226.shtml ----- BRITAINS LEADING CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER RESPONDS We at The Catholic Herald have known for some time that Richard Williamson, one of the four SSPX bishops ordained by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988, is an anti-Semite. But we have waited until now to expose the full viciousness of his views because it seemed possible that respectable members of the Society would be reconciled with the Holy See, and that Williamson et al would depart for their own schismatic denomination. That has not happened. There have been negotiations between the Vatican and Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior-General of the Society of St Pius X, following the Holy Father's liberation of the classical Mass last year. They have yet to bear fruit. This lack of progress is depressing, though understandable, given the complexity of the theological and juridical issues involved. What is not understandable is the refusal of the SSPX to condemn Bishop Williamson when the Herald confronted it with his statements this week. The SSPX, according to the general secretary of its headquarters in Switzerland, "has no duty or ability to make a pronouncement" on the authenticity of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Protocols are a century-old forgery that is consistently cited by neo-Nazis to justify the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler believed in their authenticity; so does Osama bin Laden. For the SSPX to refuse to comment on the authenticity of the forgery that one of its founders is propagating casts doubt on the good faith of the entire organisation. Is the Society also neutral on Williamson's claims that 9/11 was the product of a Jewish-dominated world conspiracy? What we can say is that, for years, this bishop has been spreading anti-Semitic lies and the SSPX has failed to expel him from its ranks. Many devout Catholics, deprived of access to the traditional liturgy by intolerant bishops, worship at Lefebvrist churches; in parts of France, SSPX Masses have been the only alternative to wildly self-indulgent liberal services that are scarcely recognisable as Catholic. But Pope Benedict XVI has brought the old Missal back into the mainstream of Catholic worship and, God willing, various bishops will soon abandon their efforts to block his reforms. Communities of traditionalist priests loyal to the Holy See are flourishing (and they would flourish in England and Wales, too, if only they were given the opportunity). Let us repeat what we said last week: there is really no excuse to continue to belong to the Society of St Pius X. Bishop Fellay's failure to condemn Bishop Williamson has brought shame on his organisation. It is time for moderate Lefebvrists to return to the Church - and for us to welcome them joyfully. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/editorial/e0000252.shtml ----- SARKOZY, PERES, OLMERT - SURVIVORS OF FAILED ASSASSINATION PLOT? June 25, 2008 www.barrychamish.com - by Barry Chamish Call it an update. Twelve hours ago, a shot rang out near the goodbye ceremony for French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Ben Gurion Airport. The band had just started up its loud farewell repertoire. At the moment Sarkozy, President Peres and Prime Minister Olmert clasped hands in unity for the cameras, a shot was heard. If anyone thought this was an assassination, security went out the window. Instead of jumping on their leaders, security rushed them to their cars and plane. Sarkozy was a wide-open target as he climbed to his plane. But then the truth was learned. At the moment that the band began and the leaders shook hands for the cameras, a clever longtime soldier assigned to an elite Border Guard unit, thought, great time to kill myself. And just when he was in perfect position; 100 yards from the ceremony with a 400 yard range rifle, on a roof, with the politicians in his sites! Darn. Plus, he didn't just choose the right moment to die noticed, his dying post was perfect. If he shot himself from a roof, maybe he could arrange for his body to fall off the roof, too. And best of all for the full drama, he decided to kill himself in front of his, "guarding partner," and two women soldiers who fainted and were taken to the hospital. Now, we have seen Israeli woman soldiers after countless ghastly, hideous terror acts, where their sense of duty prevents open shows of revulsion. They don't faint. But today, TWO female soldiers fainted at the same moment and required hospital treatment, which would include terrifying scenarios of what would happen if they opened their mouths. Continued: http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_failed_assassination_attempt.html ----- A COVENANT WITH DEATH; AN AGREEMENT WITH HELL "Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act."   And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge (King Jesus) shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it" (Isaiah 28:18). NEGOTIATOR: PALESTINIAN - ISRAELI PEACE TALKS TO BE HELD IN WASHINGTON June 28, 2008 - RAMALLAH, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei revealed on Saturday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are to hold three sessions of bilateral talks in Washington in the coming three months. Qurei told reporters in Bethlehem that first session of talks between Israel and the Palestinians will be held next month in Washington, without giving a specific date. He said talks between the two sides reached the stage that both had reached during the talks held in the Egyptian resort of Taba in 2001, adding that "all permanent status issues are still open for negotiations." U.S. President George W. Bush and his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had repeatedly expressed hope that both Israel and the Palestinians would succeed in signing an agreement on the permanent status issues. Permanent status issues which are still negotiated between the two sides are related to Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees, the Jewish settlements, the border of the Palestinian state, security and water. So far, the two sides have not reached agreement on any of the issues. They renewed their peace negotiations under the auspices of the United States at Annapolis conference last November. "The peace that our people are looking for is the peace that is able to achieve their hopes and aspirations as well as achieving the ambition of the region's people to live in security and settlement," said Qurei. "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward" (Isaiah 13 & 4). Retired pastor/teacher James McCutchan ----- "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.' " Romans 11:25-27 COEXISTENCE IN ISRAEL: A NATIONAL STUDY NEW STUDY FINDS STRONG JEWISH AND ARAB CONSENSUS FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE IN ISRAEL Cambridge, MA (May 15, 2008) – A new study released today finds strong support for coexistence efforts amongst a majority of Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. The findings may buoy hopes for long-term peace in the region. “Coexistence in Israel: A National Study” provides a compelling snapshot of current relations between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel as the nation celebrates its 60th anniversary. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) associate professor Todd L. Pittinsky, research director of the school’s Center for Public Leadership (CPL), served as lead researcher on the project. The study was conducted in Hebrew and Arabic, and included 1,721 adult citizens of Israel, with assistance from researchers at the University of Haifa. Click here to download the complete study. Among the study’s most surprising findings: • A great majority of both Jewish citizens (73%) and Arab citizens (94%) want Israel to be a society in which Arab and Jewish citizens have mutual respect and equal opportunities. • 68% of Jewish citizens support teaching conversational Arabic in Jewish schools to help bring Arab and Jewish citizens together. • 77% of Arab citizens would rather live in Israel than in any other country in the world. • More than two-thirds of Jewish citizens (69%) believe contributing to coexistence is a personal responsibility; a majority (58%) of Jewish citizens also support cabinet level action. • Arab citizens and Jewish citizens both underestimate their communities’ liking of the “other.” • Urgent action on coexistence in Israel is desired: 66% of Jewish citizens and 84% of Arab citizens believe the Israeli government investments should begin now, and not wait until the end of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Addressing the significance of the study’s most salient findings, Pittinsky remarked: “These data support what we’ve found in our allophilia research around the world—evidence of interest, comfort, and affection among some, even in communities in conflict. A growing body of research is showing that it is possible for members of groups who are very different from each other not only to tolerate each other—but to feel positive toward each other despite their differences, even in Israel. We call these positive feelings allophilia.” Pittinsky notes that much media coverage focuses on the divisions between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel, and not enough on the sincere and concerted efforts to coexist peacefully. Continued: http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=511&Itemid=115' ----- IRAN AIMS SHAHAB - 3B MISSILES AT DIMONA IsraelNN.com - by Hana Levi Julian - 06/29/08 - Iran has aimed its Shahab-3B ballistic missiles at the State of Israel, according to a report published Sunday in a British newspaper. The Times of London reports that the missiles were moved on to launch pads and are reportedly focused on several targets in the Jewish State, among them the nuclear reactor in the Negev city of Dimona. The Shahab-3B can be armed with a variety of different types of explosives, including conventional high explosives and submunitions as well as chemical, biological, radiological dispersion and, potentially, nuclear warheads. The missile, an "enhanced" version of the Shahab rocket, is believed to have been produced in ranges of approximately 1,300-1,500 km and 2,000 km, according to Jane's Defence News, bring it well within range of Israel's cities. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126660 ------ 3 KILLED, 66 WOUNDED IN JERUSALEM TERROR RAMPAGE PM Olmert following attack: Destroy the terrorist's house July 2, 2008 - Jerusalen Post - By JPOST.COM STAFF - Prime minister to speak with justice minister of the possibility of demolishing the home, revoking NII rights from killer's family. Terrorist plows bulldozer into vehicles E. J'lem resident with Israeli ID had criminal record, was working on light rail construction project. Hours after three people were killed when a terrorist in a bulldozer went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the attacker's east Jerusalem home must be destroyed. Hamas says terror attack was a natural reaction to Israeli aggression Olmert held consultations in his office following the attack and Jerusalem officials said that the prime minister was expected to discuss the possibility of destroying the terrorist's home with Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann. He is also set to discuss taking away National Insurance Institute (NII) rights from the terrorist's family. Following the attack, US President George W. Bush phoned Olmert and offered his condolences to the Israeli people. Olmert received news of the attack while in the Knesset plenum. Incidentally, the Knesset approved the first reading of a bill to take away rights and even Israeli citizenship from terrorist's families. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214726189976&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull ----- ISRAEL 'CLOSE' TO MID-EAST DEAL   July 13, 2008 - Nicolas Sarkozy (centre) said he wanted to promote love not war The Israeli and Palestinian leaders have expressed their optimism over the chances for peace at a summit of EU and Mediterranean rim nations in Paris. Israeli PM Ehud Olmert said his country had never been so close to reaching an agreement with the Palestinians as now. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said both were serious and wanted peace. July 13, 2008 - OLMERT: ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS HAVE NEVER BEEN SO CLOSE TO PEACE By HERB KEINON AND AP - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that Israel and the Palestinians have "never been as close" to a peace deal than today. At the outset of his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, Olmert said the time would soon arrive when both the Palestinians and Israelis would have to make critical decisions. Olmert praised the meeting which he said was characterized by an atmosphere of "dialogue." He stressed that negotiations remained at the top of Israel's agenda even as he hoped to start direct talks with Syria "soon." Abbas said he hoped an Israeli-Palestinian agreement could be wrapped up in the coming months. "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter" (Revelation 4:1). Retired pastor/teacher James McCutchan ----- BREAKING NEWS FROM THE ISRAELI SUPREME COURT The Jerusalem Institute of Justice - In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court of Israel ratified a settlement between twelve Messianic Jewish believers and the State of Israel, which states that being a Messianic Jew does not prevent one from receiving citizenship in Israel under the Law of Return or the Law of Citizenship, if one is a descendent of Jews on one's father's side (and thus not Jewish according to halacha). This Supreme Court decision brought an end to a legal battle that has carried on for two and a half years. The applicants were represented by Yuval Grayevsky and Calev Myers from the offices of Yehuda Raveh & Co., and their legal costs were subsidized by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice. All twelve of the applicants were denied citizenship solely based on grounds that they belong to the Messianic Jewish community. Most of them received letters stating that they would not receive citizenship because they "commit missionary activity". One of the applicants was told by a clerk at the Ministry of Interior that because she "committed missionary activity", she is "acting against the interests of the State of Israel and against the Jewish people". These allegations are not only untrue, but they also do not constitute legal grounds to deny one's right to immigrate to Israel. This important victory paves the way for persons who have Jewish ancestry on their father's side to immigrate to Israel freely, whether or not they belong to the Messianic Jewish community. This is yet another battle won in the war to establish equality in Israel for the Messianic Jewish community just like every other legitimate stream of faith within the Jewish world. http://www.tjci.org/ ----- FRANCE PROPOSES 'EUROPEAN ROADMAP' FOR MIDDLE EAST. (IsraelNN.com) French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has called for the European Union (EU) to display a "European Roadmap" as part of a larger role in trying "to help bring peace to the Middle East." He explained he was not calling for proposals contrary to the American roadmap but wants recognition of a stronger European influence.FM Kouchner asserted that the change in the American government next year "will be the moment to propose a form of partnership that will take more account of the symbolic, and real, weight of the European Union…. This is about giving European foreign policy its rightful place." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/150110  NEWSLETTERS  NEWS INDEX  MAIN INDEX