Nissan-Sivan, 5764
(March-June, 2004)
(Please keep in mind that Jewish dates begin on the evening before.
This is a work in progress and will be updated as needed.)
28 Adar, 5764 (March 21, 2004)
Lesbian pastor acquitted in church trial
Divisions over sexual orientationAssociated Press
BOTHELL, Wash. - A lesbian Methodist pastor was acquitted Saturday in a church trial over her sexual orientation, and will be allowed to continue her ministry.
After about 10 hours of deliberations, a jury of 13 pastors ruled in favor of the Rev. Karen Dammann, 47, who disclosed three years ago that she was in a homosexual relationship.
Church law prohibits the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals and the church's Book of Discipline declares homosexuality to be ''incompatible to Christian teachings.'' But the church's social principles support gay rights and liberties.
The jury issued a statement saying the church ''did not present sufficient clear and convincing evidence to sustain the charge.''
''We realize that the church is divided regarding issues related to homosexuality,'' the jury said in its statement. ''We, the Trial Court, are far from unanimous regarding biblical and theological understandings.''
The jury said it made its decision ''after many hours of painful and prayerful deliberations, and listening for and to the word of God.''
Dammann has been on leave as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ellensburg, 95 miles east of Seattle. This month she married her partner of nine years, Meredith Savage, in Portland, Ore., where officials have been allowing gay marriages. They have a 5-year-old son.
The ruling means Dammann is in good standing with the church and available for new assignments.
About 100 people attended a prayer service immediately after the verdict was announced. The Rev. Rody Rowe, pastor of Queen Anne United Methodist Church in Seattle, told the gathering they could pray silently or voice their thoughts.
After a long silence, one woman said, ''I pray for our church, for those who will rejoice and for those who will gnash their teeth and wail.''
Dammann did not testify at her three-day trial at Bothell United Methodist Church in this Seattle suburb.
In closing arguments Friday, her church counsel, the Rev. Robert C. Ward, asked jurors to adhere to church principles on inclusiveness and justice, not to the letter of church rules.
''We need to be careful about creating rules that exclude people,'' Ward said. ''You are faced with a choice to make love practical, to make love plain, and to do what is right.''
The Rev. James C. Finkbeiner, who prosecuted the case, argued that Dammann, by her own admission, is a practicing lesbian and that was all the jury needed to consider to find her guilty.
''This is a trial about Reverend Dammann,'' Finkbeiner said. ''The law of the church is not on trial. I admit this will make this decision much more painful to reach.''
The trial is the first against a homosexual Methodist pastor since 1987, when the credentials of the Rev. Rose Mary Denman of New Hampshire were revoked.
Dammann declared her sexual preference in February 2001, when she sought a new church appointment. After receiving her letter, Methodist Bishop Elias Galvan, under church orders, filed a complaint against Dammann.
The United Methodist clergy of the Pacific Northwest Conference voted to retain Dammann, but the Judicial Council of the Nashville, Tenn.-based denomination reversed that decision last fall. A church committee voted to put Damman on trial in January.
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, March 21, 2004.
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/032104/new_20040321100.shtml
29 Adar, 5764 (March 22, 2004)
4. March 22, 2004, 8:56 PM ESTPlanets to align in sky show 5 'naked-eye' orbiters to be visible an hour after sunset
Five planets will line up in the sky every night for about two weeks starting March 22, according to NASA.
The five "naked-eye" planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter -- will be visible for an hour after sunset, and will appear in a line across the sky, according to the NASA Web site.
The planets only "sporadically" appear on the same side of the sun, usually every few years, according to NASA. Other such alignments will occur over the next few years, but this may be the best for at least three decades, according to NASA astronomer Myles Standish.
"This particular planetary grouping will quite possibly offer the best nighttime views until 2036," Standish, who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said.
The planets will be visible after sunset Tuesday night in the western horizon, with Mercury low in the sky, Venus and Mars above it, Saturn almost directly overhead and Jupiter nearly on the eastern horizon, NASA said. It based its calculations on a map made for a latitude of 34 degrees north, or level with Los Angeles. But the planets will similarly appear in a line across the sky from all locations, NASA said.
The moon will also put in an appearance beginning with crescent near Mercury and climbing over the next several nights to become almost full on April 1 when it will appear above Jupiter, according to NASA.
To see the gathering of planets, viewers should look at the sky away from bright city lights and buildings. The planets should still be visible through urban light pollution, NASA said, adding that the best views will occur during the last eight to 10 days of March, although the show will last through early April.
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsplan0323,0,3861891.story?coll=ny-hea lth-headlines
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5. Monday, 22 March, 2004
Detailed picture of comet's heart
By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editorThe highest resolution image obtained by the Stardust spacecraft as it flew by Comet Wild 2 in January has just been released by the US space agency.
The image shows a pockmarked "flying mountain" strewn with jets of gas and dust that billow in the solar wind.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3557205.stm
[Rev 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;]----------
6. EU to forge own policy on Middle East
22.03.04EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite calls for a common EU-US approach to the Middle East, the Union will press ahead with its own "distinct approach", according to an internal policy paper obtained by the EUobserver.
The paper, produced by the Irish Presidency – which currently heads the EU – sets out 11 policy goals for greater engagement with the Middle East.
Chief among them is the creation of a "common zone of peace, prosperity and progress".
The EU however is concerned that its own policies and what’s left of the Arab-Israeli peace process may be overtaken by a US policy heavily focused on democratic reforms.
The baggage brought to the table by the US is also a concern.
The US has proposed a series of joint declarations on reform of the Middle East to take place at this summer’s EU-US, NATO and G8 summits.
But the EU, faced with calls from the region for more consultation, is opting to "continue to pursue its own distinct strategy".
In recent months the EU and US have held a series of talks aimed at agreeing on a common approach. They appear to have achieved few results on the most contentious issues, however.
The EU now says it will forge a "complimentary but distinct" approach, developing what it calls "a sense of shared ownership" of the plan.
"There is a view in the region that its perspectives have not been fully taken into account in the development of the current initiatives", says the document.
Diplomats say the outcome of the meeting of the Arab League at the end of this month will be a major factor in determining the EU’s actions.
However there is also some concern about the sidelining of the Middle East Peace Process.
"Progress on the resolution of the middle east conflict cannot be a precondition for confronting the urgent reform challenges facing the countries in the region nor vice versa", says the document.
"The lack of clear prospects for peace is already making it harder for reformers in the region to succeed".
The EU is expected to finalise its policy at June’s meeting of EU leaders.
Written by Andrew Beatty
http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=14895
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7. EU could back WTO membership for all Middle East
22.03.04EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Union could back World Trade Organisation membership for all countries of the Middle East, the EUobserver has learned.
An internal policy document obtained by this news-site, lists eleven policy objectives which may be included in an overall EU strategy.
One of the possible objectives says, "The EU will promote WTO membership for countries in the region".
The aim is part of an overarching policy on the Middle East formulated by the current EU Presidency.
The move would see countries such as Algeria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Iran and Syria become fully paid-up members of the international trade body.
The EU also aims at improving the business, modernisation and regulatory environment in the region as well as liberalising the import and export markets.
The move would help to bring countries like Iran and Libya further into the international community.
In return, the EU would seek help creating a region of peace and stability including democratic and human rights reforms.
Written by Andrew Beatty
http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=14898
1 Nissan, 5764 (March 23, 2004)
1. "Although the new year begins in Tishrei, the month of Rosh Hashanah, the months are counted from Nissan (Exo 12:2), as a constant reminder of the Exodus." (Stone Chumash)----------
2. Gen 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
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3. Exo 40:1,2,17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation...17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
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4. Ezra 7:9 For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.
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5. Ezra 10:17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.
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6. 2 Chron 29:17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
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7. Eze 29:17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
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8. Eze 45:18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:
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9. Oregon county bans all marriage
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) -- In a new twist in the battle over same-sex marriage roiling the United States, a county in Oregon has banned all marriages -- gay and heterosexual -- until the state decides who can and who cannot wed.
The last marriage licenses were handed out in Benton County at 4 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. EST) Tuesday. As of Wednesday, officials in the county of 79,000 people will begin telling couples applying for licenses to go elsewhere until the gay marriage debate is settled.
"It may seem odd," Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell told Reuters in a telephone interview, but "we need to treat everyone in our county equally."
State Attorney General Hardy Myers said in a statement that he was "very pleased" with Benton County's decision. "It is my sincere hope that the legal process will provide clarity for each of Oregon's counties."
The three County commissioners had originally decided to start handing out gay marriage licenses this week but on Monday reversed that decision amid a growing firestorm of lawsuits across the country, and decided instead to put a temporary halt to all marriages.
Rebekah Kassell, a spokeswoman for Basic Rights Oregon, a pro- gay marriage group, told Reuters; "It is certainly a different way for county commissioners to respect their constitutional obligation to apply the law equally to everyone.
"We appreciate that they are willing to say they are not going to participate in discrimination."
Tim Nashif, the spokesman for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said; "Oregon not only has the only county in the nation issuing illegal (same-sex) marriage licenses, we probably have the only county in the nation refusing to issue marriage licenses at all."
"We are happy Benton County is not going to violate the law by issuing illegal marriage licenses, but we are perplexed as to why they would not issue legal licenses," he added.
Benton County, whose county seat is Corvallis, is home to Oregon State University and is seen as a bastion of liberalism.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union said it would file a lawsuit Wednesday against Oregon or an unnamed state entity over the state's failure to register the more than 2,550 marriage licenses issued by Portland's Multnomah County to gay couples since March 3.
Multnomah County, the state's most populous, is the only jurisdiction in the United States that continues to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Local governments from San Francisco to New Paltz, New York, have halted the practice amid lawsuits and protests.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/03/23/marriage.ban.reut/index.h tml
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10. Vatican censuresYassin killing
VATICAN CITY, Vatican City, March 23 (UPI) -- Tha Vatican has issued a sharply worded censure of Israel's assassination of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Italian media reported.
"The Holy See unites with the international community in censuring the violent act which is not justifiable in any legal state," Joaquin Navarro Valls, who is among Pope John Paul II's closest associates, said Monday.
He said a "real and lasting peace (in the Middle East) cannot come from a simple show of force, but has to be the result of moral and legal action."
Observers said the statement did not name either Israel or the Palestinians, but the pope has made statements critical of both sides in the past.
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040322-095912-9284r.htm
2 Nissan, 5764 (March 24, 2004)
1. Swarm of quakes rumble under S. Sister 'bulge'
At least 100 deep, small temblors; scientists see no reason to panic
By Barney LertenMarch 24 - A swarm of more than 100 small earthquakes in 24 hours has rumbled beneath the flanks of the South Sister volcano, the same spot where a slow-growing bulge has lifted the ground by about 10 inches in the past seven years, geologists said Wednesday. Despite the activity, experts stressed that there was no imminent danger of an eruption, and no immediate threat to the public.
Nature’s power is awesome to behold – and so is its timing. The quake swarm, ranging in magnitude up to about 1.5 on the Richter scale – far too small for people in the area to feel – began around 10 a.m. Tuesday, at about the same time that federal geologists and Central Oregon emergency planners gathered in Bend to start putting together a coordination plan, in the event of significant volcanic activity in the central Cascades.
“The timing was truly bizarre,” said William “Willie” Scott, scientist in charge of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash. “It probably started about the time I was showing the map with very few earthquakes! Mother Nature strikes again.”
By Wednesday morning, the regional seismic network had detected about 100 quakes, a rate that peaked late Tuesday and appears to be declining slowly, according to a joint statement by the USGS and the University of Washington’s Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network.
The quakes were occurring in the northeast part of an area centered three miles west of South Sister, in which the ground over a 10-mile diameter has undergone what scientists call “crustal uplift” (but others have called “the bulge”) by as much as 25 centimeters (about 10 inches) since late 1997. It was in 2001 that a USGS expert comparing data from a European satellite detected the slight rise in elevation, prompting further study and the placement of a seismometer, GPS and other devices in the area.
“On the basis of multiple lines of evidence, scientists infer that the cause of the uplift is the continuing intrusion of a modest volume of magma (molten rock),” Wednesday’s statement said. The magma appears to be accumulating at a depth about four miles below the ground surface, and measures about 50 million cubic yards in volume.
Until Tuesday, only a few earthquakes had been registered as accompanying the magma-moving process, but the scientists had expected that swarms of small quakes, such as this week’s, eventually would accompany the uplift.
“The most likely cause of the earthquakes is small amounts of slippage on faults as the Earth’s crust adjusts to the slow ground deformation of the past seven years,” the statement said. Heat and gases related to the magma movement likely have increased fluid pressure deep underground, which also helps to trigger the minor quakes, they said.
More: http://my.bend.com/news/ar_view.php?ar_id=14441#no-hash
[Three Sisters volcanoes named Faith, Hope and Charity. Other mount in the area called Mount Bachelor.]
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2. Egypt - 25 years on and still teaching hate
By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial StaffMarch 24, 2004
Jerusalem (jnewswire.com) - Israel Wednesday celebrated the 25th anniversary of its peace treaty with Egypt, the first signed between the Jewish state and any of its Arab neighbors.
But relations between Israel and Egypt have remained cold at best for the past quarter century.
Nor does the situation appear set to change any time soon, with the next generation of Egyptians still being taught to view Israel as an enemy nation whose ultimate downfall at the hands of Islam is assured.
The 1979 peace treaty obligated both nations to foster an atmosphere of peace, tolerance and coexistence.
A new survey of 119 current Egyptian schoolbooks by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP) shows Cairo has done anything but.
'We want to march forward to peace'
"Israel is ready to again march towards peace with its neighbors," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday during a special Knesset session to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of Israel's peace treaty with Egypt.
Sharon recounted his first meetings with former-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and said that despite the harsh words from Cairo, the Israelis had never harbored hatred for the Egyptians.
"Do not despise an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land," Sharon quoted from Deuteronomy 23:7.
His speech was attended by only 20 Knesset members and a small group of foreign diplomats.
Cold peace
Ever since signing their peace agreement under the guidance of former-US President Jimmy Carter at Camp David in 1979, Egypt and Israel have maintained a cold peace.
While Israelis have taken the advantage of the peace treaty to visit their neighbor en masse, Egyptian tour groups in Israel are unheard of.
Nor does the Egyptian school curriculum reflect peaceful and tolerant sentiment towards Israel, as demanded by the 1979 treaty.
Nowhere to be found
In nearly every Egyptian schoolbook surveyed by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP), the map of the Middle East is devoid of Israel. The area where Israel should be is either called "Palestine" or not labeled at all.
A grade 6 social studies exercise listing the nations that border Egypt conspicuously omits the name of Israel, saying of Egypt's eastern border simply that it runs from the Gaza town of "Rafah located on the [...Mediterranean...] to [a point] east of the town of Taba" on the Red Sea.
Israel the enemy
Everywhere in the schoolbooks Israel is portrayed as a fiendish nation that engages in the "most hideous of [all] types of terrorism and extremism." (From a grade 8 book on environment and demographics)
A grade 5 religious studies book has a Muslim father asking his son what he has learned from a particular passage of the Koran. The son replies that the lessons have been "precious" indeed, and that one of them is that the "Jews are a people of betrayal and treachery."
"The Jews of the past are the [same as the] Jews of today and of the future. [They are] all the same. One should study them, study their ambitions, and arm oneself against them with every [possible] weapon," a grade 11 Islamic Education book instructs students.
Egypt's wars against Israel are touted as great victories and taught as national holidays, while Israel's sincerity towards its peace treaty is Egypt is doubted at every opportunity.
Students are also taught to continue to view war with Israel as a viable option.
"Even if the malicious one [Israel] thinks that we are disunited, we will still move forward on the road of glory, under the Arab flag [on] the day on which we shall be called to jihad," reads a grade 6 reading comprehension book.
http://www.jnewswire.com/news_archive/04/03/040324_egypt.asp
6 Nissan, 5764 (March 28, 2004) Jupiter and the shadows of three moons
JUPITER AND THE SHADOWS OF THREE MOONSThis coming weekend, weather permitting, almost anyone with a telescope in North America and northwestern South America can see the shadows of three Jovian moons at once.
The shadows of Callisto and Io are already crossing Jupiter's disk on March 28th when, at 8:00 Universal Time, they are joined by the shadow of Ganymede. Nineteen minutes later, at 8:19 UT, Callisto's shadow moves off the disk and brings this rare triple shadow transit to a close.
The event starts at 3:00 a.m. EST Sunday morning in eastern North America, with Jupiter fairly low in the western sky. The planet is much higher up for those on the West Coast, where it starts at 12:00 a.m. PST (that is, midnight late Saturday evening).
Throughout the 19-minute period only Callisto will be easy to see, just west of Jupiter. Io and Ganymede (with their shadows) will be crossing in front of the disk and thus hard to discern in telescopes. Europa will be out of sight behind the planet. To display Jupiter's moons for any date and time, visit SkyandTelescope.com/jupmoons.
The March 28th event is a marvelous opportunity for those doing telescopic imaging with a webcam. That technology barely existed for the last triple shadow transit on November 11, 1997. One of the few photographs ever made of such an event was taken by English amateur Horace E. Dall on April 21, 1956 (see the October 1986 SKY & TELESCOPE, page 411).
HOW RARE?
Belgian amateur astronomer Christian Steyaert, writing in 1979, was first to call attention to the March 28, 2004, event. He also found 31 other triple shadow transits during the years 1900 to 2100. Jean Meeus, for his 1997 book MATHEMATICAL ASTRONOMY MORSELS (available from SkyandTelescope.com), recomputed these events from scratch and confirmed that the next one will take place on October 12, 2013, when observers in western Europe are favored.
Meeus points out that the four Galilean satellites return to almost exactly the same positions relative to the Sun and Jupiter every 2,501 weeks plus a half day. So the upcoming event belongs to the same "series" as that photographed by Dall nearly 48 years ago.
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
SKY & TELESCOPE
7 Nissan, 5764 (March 29, 2004)
1. Eze 30:20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,----------
2. Eze 45:18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: 19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house.
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3. Stargazers in for a treat on March 29
March 23, 2004 09:11 IST
Stargazers are in for a treat on March 29 when Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury line up in the sky in a rare event that happens about every 32 years.
"All these planets will line up along an east-west belt in the sky," Dr N Rathnasree, Director, Nehru Planetarium, said in New Delhi.
Though these planets will be visible to the naked eye, use of telescope will allow viewers to view moons of Jupiter, rings of Saturn and phases of Mercury, she said.
The simplest way to locate the planets is to look for Venus in the western skies immediately after sunset.
A little above Venus will be Mars, in the same west-east line will be Saturn, and further in the line towards the eastern horizon will be Jupiter. Mercury will be seen a little below Venus, she said.
While Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are already visible in the evening sky, Mercury will join them at the end of March, she said. They will be best visible on March 29 as Mercury and Venus will be then at their maximum angular distance from the sun.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/mar/23planet.htm
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4. Warnings from Islam's 'messianic whirlpool'
Jihadists in global frenzy over coming of prophesied 'Mahdi'Posted: March 29, 2004
Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is an online, subscription intelligence news service from the creator of WorldNetDaily.com – a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for the last 25 years.
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
An Israeli intelligence analyst sees a frenzy of jihadist Internet communications as part of a "dangerous Islamic messianic whirlpool" featuring a number of prophecies culminating in the coming of the "Mahdi," reports the latest issue of the premium online intelligence newsletter Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
Some of the documents obtained in a sweep of Internet communications just before the attack on the Madrid trains are signed by an unknown sheikh – assumed to be a nom de guerre for Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri or others in leadership in al-Qaida.
The communications make a number of predictions about world events pointing to "The coming of the Mahdi" – a messianic figure Muslims expect to come and lead them in victory against the infidels in the last days.
Here is what these communications foresee:
- Two European countries will be attacked.
- Another attack is planned against the U.S.
- Followers are asked to get rid of euros and as true Muslims replace them with gold.
- There will be an assassination attempt against a high-ranking Egyptian official.
- A mass gathering of jihad warriors is expected in the cities of the twin holy mosques Mecca and Medina.
- A divine signal will be given when three celestial stars will be aligned on one axis.
- The appearance of a new star, never seen before, will be in plain sight to all humanity.
- Pakistani President Pervez Musharaf and Yasser Arafat will be annihilated in the same month.
The list includes other apocalyptic predictions such as "the march of Islam through Russia, the return of Islam to Andalusia and a victory parade in Jerusalem with liberated Saddam Hussein at the lead. This will follow after a war in Syria and the assassination of King Abdullah of Jordan."
There is no specific time frame for the apocalyptic prophecy, according to G2 Bulletin sources. The most important aspect of the communications is the subsequent attack in Spain, and an important threat to the continental U.S.
The analyst says the Internet is now the most important tool used by the jihadi propagandists. Some of the material is clearly a warning to Muslims to distance themselves from possible target areas.
Further analysis suggests the second European country to be hit, according to the jihad spirit, is probably Italy or the Vatican. This is based on constant verbal attacks on the pope as an enemy of Islam and on rejection of Christian missionary movements in Africa and the Middle East. A direct threat is aimed against American missionaries and indeed some were attacked last week in Iraq.
Experts say the latest Ramadan saw, according to Muslim scholars, three aligned stars. Also the issue of unknown stars is lately highlighted among jihadists such as the news of March 15 about distant unknown galaxies and information about new stars. The new star is explained by the jihadists as the discovery of a new planet.
The jihadists reacted to this information by saying: "Even infidel researchers are aware of the Mahdi's message." G2B reported earlier that U.S. military intelligence experts were studying a video clip of bin Laden in which he stands before a dry-erase board with an Arabic phrase written upon it – "awaited enlightened one."
No one who has seen the video is quite certain of the meaning or the context. But, the Hadith, a collection of Islamic holy writings that supplement the Quran, predicts the messianic figure will arise in the last days of history. This "Mahdi," along with the "Prophet Jesus," will lead the believers to victory over the infidels.
The video raises the question of whether bin Laden sees himself as this Mahdi or if he is expecting another to arise and lead. Either way, the addition of a dimension of Islamic prophecy to the global terror war may seriously complicate matters for planners in the West.
According to G2 Bulletin's military sources, some of the detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay have told interrogators they joined bin Laden's al-Qaida offensive because they think he is the "awaited enlightened one." Others in military intelligence say some of the terrorists crossing the border into Iraq with al-Qaida ties are doing so because of their belief in this Islamic prophecy.
Muslim believers – both Sunni and Shiite – expect the Mahdi to return one day to restore justice to the world. This messenger is not as great as Muhammad, but is a messianic figure found in all branches of Islam.
Interestingly, since the end of 2001, bin Laden has been signing his name "Osama bin Muhammad bin Laden," rather than just Osama bin Laden. This is significant because it gives the al-Qaida leader an apocalyptic dimension. The Hadith says the Mahdi will be recognizable, among other things, by the fact that he carries the name of the prophet.
The Mahdi is supposed to come, according to Islamic clerics, just before the advent of the day of judgment – when believers are severely oppressed in every corner of the world. He will fight the "oppressors," unite the Muslims, bring peace and justice to the world, rule over the Arabs, and lead a prayer in Mecca at which Jesus will be present, according to Islamic scholars.
10 Nissan, 5764 (April 1, 2004)
2. Josh 4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.----------
3. Eze 40:1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.
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4. UFO blasts sky like 50,000 spotlights
'I've seen a few satellites ... but I'd never seen anything as big as that one'Posted: April 1, 2004
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
"Suddenly there was this flash, it's the only way I can describe it – it was so bright it was a white flash and it lit everything up. It was like somebody had turned on 50,000 spotlights."
That's how Elsa Nelms described the bright light in the Australian outback around 7 p.m. local time last night, as a huge fireball reportedly crashed to Earth somewhere in the state of Queensland.
"We all looked up in the sky and there was a white smoke trail coming from the Northeast – like a firecracker smoke trail but it was too high to even be an aircraft," the Winton resident told the Australian Associated Press.
Some citizens thought they might be under attack.
"[My friend] thought we were getting bombed and it just come over this big fire with a big tail about the size of a semi-trailer and we heard this big explosion," a witness said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "The ground was just vibrating and there was this big vapor trail and it stayed in the air for about 10 minutes ... we didn't know what was happening."
Grazier Peter Crombie told ABC the light show was fantastic.
"It just lit up the whole garden here like an arc light ... with that really brilliant light," he said. "I was talking to one lady or two ladies driving along, they said it lit up the whole inside of the car. You could just see everything you know, you could honestly read a newspaper."
"It actually shook buildings," George Schafer of Winton told the Townsville Bulletin. "There was a bang like you wouldn't believe."
Mike Barton of Australian Search and Rescue says the pilot of a Virgin Blue passenger jet reported the unidentified object flying over him at about 25,000 feet, and told ABC it "looks like some sort of meteor space re-entry."
Murray Smith from the town of Roma described his experience to the network.
"I actually had my back to it, but somebody yelled out what's that?" he said. "I looked around and I said what the hell is it? It was a big fireball. I don't know how big you'd say it was, as big as the sun anyway with the front end of it and a pretty long comet like tail on it. But all I can say was it was big. Nothing like I'd ever seen, and I've seen a few satellites and this and that, but I'd never seen anything as big as that one."
Back in Winton, Nelms told AAP her house shook and the entire town either witnessed or felt the event, as phones instantly started ringing and people jumped out of their homes.
"The neighbors came over and they were white-faced," she said.
Nelms said she spoke with others some 80 miles away from Winton who saw the flash but didn't feel any vibration.
"There's probably is a big hole somewhere – but had this fallen on Winton we probably wouldn't be sitting here talking about it," she said.
While no one has confirmed what the object was, officials suspect it was a meteorite, though the location of impact has yet to be determined.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=37839
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5. Eastern Temple Mount wall may collapse
Etgar Lefkovits Apr. 1, 2004
The eastern wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount is in danger of immediate collapse because of damage caused by the February 11 earthquake, a classified government report issued this week concludes. The report, written by the Israel Antiquities Authority, has been distributed to senior ministers by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's military attache, Brig.-Gen. Yoav Galant, officials said Thursday.
The classified report, details of which were first published in Yediot Aharonot, says that the earthquake damaged the eastern wall of the Temple Mount to such an extent that sections of the wall are liable to cave in on the underground architectural support of the mount, known as Solomon's Stables.
The Antiquities Authority refused to comment on the report.
But officials confirmed Thursday that the report has been sent to a number of government ministers including Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Ehud Olmert, Education Minister Limor Livnat, and Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Natan Sharansky.
The report has also been forwarded to the heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad, and to Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Shlomo Aharonishky, and Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz.
All of the recipients have been asked to forward their recommendations on the matter to the prime minister ahead of a planned meeting on the issue, expected shortly.
The report includes several documents prepared by officials in the Antiquities Authority, who suggest that the area in question be declared off-limits until repairs are carried out at the site.
New cracks and movements in the already fragile 2,000-year-old wall were discerned by archeologists following the February earthquake, the report states.
The earthquake, which measured 5 on the Richter scale, did not cause any serious injuries or damage.
Wakf (Islamic Trust) director Adnan Husseini on Thursday said that the report over damage to the wall caused by the earthquake was "incorrect." "We do not understand how such a report could be issued since there is no problem due to the earthquake," he said.
The report comes as a team of Jordanian engineers continues to carry out repair work on a separate bulge on the southern wall of the Temple Mount, adjacent to Solomon's Stables.
It was not clear Thursday if the Jordanians would be asked by Israel to repair the eastern wall as well.
In February, the head of the Jordanian team, Dr. Raief Najim, said that additional restoration work was needed in other areas, including the eastern wall.
Israeli archeologists say that the bulge on the southern wall was caused by the Wakf construction work at Solomon's Stables over the last decade, while a Jordanian report states that it was the result of the natural flow of rainwater over the centuries.
Israel maintains overall security of the site, while the Wakf is charged with day-to-day maintenance at the compound.
In the late 1990s, the Wakf turned Solomon's Stables into the largest mosque in the country, that can accommodate 30,000 worshipers. Its excavation caused extensive damage to antiquities at Judaism's holiest site, which were unearthed and then heaped onto a garbage dump.
Israeli archeologists from the Antiquities Authority have not been carrying out routine supervision at the site for more than three years, despite the reopening of the ancient compound to non- Muslims last year, due to concern over renewed Palestinian violence at the site.
11 Nissan, 5764 (April 2, 2004)
1. Seven countries join NATOBRUSSELS, April 2 (UPI) -- NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer marked the formal addition of seven member states into the defense alliance in Brussels Friday.
He termed it "the clearest demonstration that in Europe, geography no longer equals destiny."
Foreign ministers from Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia, and Estonia joined their colleagues from 19 NATO member states in the raising of the flags and playing of the national anthems of the new member states, RFE reported.
De Hoop Scheffer said the NATO expansion, along with the enlargement of the European Union next month, perfectly illustrates "the attraction, the strength, and the enduring value of the trans-Atlantic link."
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2. EU to Israel: Don't kill terrorists, or else
By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial StaffApril 2, 2004
Jerusalem (jnewswire.com) - European lawmakers Thursday accused Israel of perpetrating state terrorism, and threatened to suspend the current Israel-EU trade agreement if any more "Palestinian" terrorist leaders were vaporized by IAF helicopter gun ships.
A resolution presented to the European Parliament called for the immediate suspension of Israel's Association Agreement in response to the execution of blood-soaked Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin.
It failed to gain majority support.
Two compromise articles were passed, however, the first of which called on the body to fully suspend the trade agreement, which elevates the Israel's trade status with Europe, should Jerusalem carried out any more "extra-judicial" killings.
The second accused Israel of engaging in "acts of terror" by launching anti-terror military operations that on occasion result in collateral damage among the largely terror-supporting "Palestinian" population.
And in a bizarre twist, Europe absolved itself of any culpability in "Palestinian" terror, claiming there was absolutely no evidence any of the millions of dollars it had given PLO chief Yasser Arafat had found their way into the pockets of terrorists.
One Israeli minister said the evidence tells a contrary story.
'Do not fight terror'
The second of the two articles passed Thursday called on the European "Council and Commission to consider acting in full compliance of article 2 of the association agreement with Israel in case of continuation of the policy of extra-judicial killing."
In other words, if Israel kills any more "Palestinian" terror chiefs, Europe will curb trade relations with the Jewish state.
The compromise article was introduced after an original resolution calling for the immediate suspension of Israel's trade status failed to gain majority support.
At the same time, the continent is scrambling to form a united front against international terrorism in the wake of the Madrid bombings.
The Europeans have failed to formulate a solid plan for dealing with the threat, but have for the most part deplored the American and Israeli practice of actually eliminating the terrorists before they have a chance to kill more innocents.
It is difficult for most to imagine Europe threatening to suspend trade relations with the US should Washington succeed in killing Osama bin Laden.
Cynical moral equivalency
The other article passed stated that the European Parliament "reiterates its condemnations of all terrorist acts against civilian populations committed by both sides."
Lawmakers openly compared Israeli anti-terror military operations that on occasion result in collateral damage among the Palestinian Arab populace with acts of terror perpetrated against Israel's Jews.
The parliament called on the "Palestinians" to not react violently to Israel's "most recent provocation" - the killing of Yassin.
Europe has long championed the notion that Israel's war on terror is the same as the "Palestinian" terrorist war, and has even threatened to put on trial individual IDF soldiers, including former chiefs of staff.
'We don't fund terror'
Meanwhile, in a classic case of truth and reality being turned on their heads, Europe insisted Thursday the millions of dollars it gives to Yasser Arafat's PLO do not find their way into the coffers of recognized terror groups.
[Ed. Note - The two most prolific "Palestinian" terror groups - the Tanzim and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - are actually part of Arafat's PLO-ruling Fatah organization.]
A European Parliament inquiry into EU aid to the PLO/PA decided there was "no conclusive evidence, to date, that the EU non-targeted direct budgetary support was used to finance illegal activities, including the financing of terrorism."
Europe is the PA's biggest donor, handing over tens of millions of euros to Arafat every month.
Strangely, most "Palestinians" still live in squalor, PA-controlled towns are ruinous, and public sector employees are rarely, if ever, paid. Recent reports about Arafat's enormous personal wealth may partially answer for the discrepancy.
Israel disagrees
Regarding the funding of terrorism, Israeli Health Minister Danny Naveh strongly disagreed with the European Parliament findings.
"We know for sure" that Arafat's PA is siphoning off money to fund terrorist activity against Israelis, Naveh said, citing numerous General Security Services and IDF documents.
Many of those documents were captured during raids of PA offices, and were handed over to the European committee of inquiry.
A minority group of committee members also disagreed with the primary findings, saying that suspicion certainly still existed that Arafat had authorized the transfer of funds to known terrorists.
12 Nissan, 5764 (April 3, 2004)
3. US mediates compromise between Hamas and Israel, Hamas Demands Change in Charter
By: Bassem Shehadi The Jerusalem Times (independent Palestinian weekly)
3 April 2004US officials are leading mediation efforts for a compromise between Hamas and Israel, a high ranking Palestinian official told the Jerusalem Times, under the condition of anonymity. The sought compromise demands Hamas' unconditional freezing of all anti-Israel attacks, including retaliations to Yassin's death, in return for the Israeli halting of assassinations against Hamas leaders.
These contacts, which include Hamas leaders in Gaza and Syria, have started days after the Israeli assassination of the movement's founder Ahmad Yassin in Gaza last week, the source added. "Hamas has no other option.The Americans want it to freeze all military activities, mainly the suicidal attacks, and, moreover, to turn it-self into a disarmed political party," he confirmed. Otherwise, the source added, "Hamas will face more Israeli assassinations and "a likely invasion of the whole Gaza Strip".
In other developments, Hamas voiced readiness recently for joining the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a PLO source said. Saeed Syam, a Hamas Leader in Gaza, didn't dismiss this news, saying ""our position is clear. That is, we don't mind joining PLO for certain conditions."
The main condition is to grant Hamas a full partnership, including joining all PLO institutions, which will pave the way for the movement to be part of the Palestinian decision making and run for the upcoming elections, Syam confirmed.
The most important and nonnegotiable condition, he affirmed, is to reinstitute the canceled articles of the PLO "National Charter" that PNA obliged to remove as part of the commitments to the 1993 Oslo accord singed between Israel and PLO, Syyam added. "This incorporation must not be symbolic or marginal.We require an effective annexation to the national body (PLO), Syyam concluded.
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4. ASTRONOMERS 'PINPOINT TIME AND DATE OF CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION'
Ananova
May 8, 2003Two Romanian astronomers say their research shows Christ died at 3pm on a Friday, and rose again at 4am on a Sunday.
Liviu Mircea and Tiberiu Oproiu claim to have pinpointed the exact time and date of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
The pair, from the Astronomic Observatory Institute in Cluj, Romania, say Jesus died at 3pm on Friday, April 3, 33 AD, and rose again at 4am on Sunday, April 5.
They used a computer programme to check biblical references against historical astronomical data.
They said the New Testament stated that Jesus died the day after the first night with a full moon, after the vernal equinox.
Using data gathered on the stars between 26 and 35 AD they established that in those nine years, the first full moon after the vernal equinox was registered twice -- on Friday, April 7, 30 AD, and on Friday, April 3, 33 AD.
They were convinced the date of the crucifixion was 33 AD, and not 30 AD, because records showed a solar eclipse, as depicted in the Bible at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, occurred in Jerusalem that year.
Calculate dates for yourself.
- April 3, 33 AD/16 Nissan, 3793 (see 16 Nissan below)
- 2,000 years x 360 days (biblical year) = 720,000 days
- April 3, 33 AD + 720,000 days = July 17, 2004 (around this date)
- Possible start of Day of the Lord?
I don't know if the above calculator takes into account the 10 days Pope Gregory chopped off in October 1582 (October 4th was followed by October 15th) to get the calendar back in line with equinoxes? Anyway, around the date of July 17 is the Fast of 17th of Tammuz (July 6) and Tisha B'Av (July 27) on the Jewish calendar.
Fast of 17th Tammuz commemorates: (The following is from http://www.ou.org/)
(Following info on Tisha B'Av from http://www.ou.org)
- Going all the way back to Biblical times, Moses descended Mount Sinai on this day and, upon seeing the Golden Calf broke the first set of Tablets carrying the Ten Commandments (Shemot 32:19, Mishna Taanit 28b).
- In the First Temple Era: The priests in the First Temple stopped offering the daily sacrifice on this day (Taanit 28b) due to the shortage of sheep during the siege and the next year 3184 (586 BCE), the walls of Jerusalem were breached after many months of siege by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces.
- In Melachim II 21:7 we find that King Menashe, one of the worst of the Jewish kings, had an idol placed in the Holy Sanctuary of the Temple, according to tradition on this date. The Talmud, in Masechet Taanit 28b, says that in the time of the Roman persecution, Apostomos, captain of the occupation forces, did the same, and publicly burned the Torah - both acts considered open blasphemy and desecration. These were followed by Titus and Rome breaching the walls of Jerusalem in 3760 (70 CE) and Pope Gregory IX ordering the confiscation of all manuscripts of the Talmud in 4999 (1239).
- In later years this day continued to be a dark one for Jews. In 1391, more than 4,000 Jews were killed in Toledo and Jaen, Spain and in 4319 (1559) the Jewish Quarter of Prague was burned and looted.
- The Kovno ghetto was liquidated on this day in 5704 (1944) and in 5730 (1970) Libya ordered the confiscation of Jewish property.
- Other interesting occurrences on this day include Noach sending out the first dove to see if the Flood waters had receded, (Bereishit 8:8) in 1650 (2100 BCE); Moshe Rabbeinu destroying the golden calf, (Shemot 32:20, Seder Olam 6, Taanit 30b - Rashi) and then ascending back up Har Sinai for the second time where he spent the next forty days pleading for forgiveness for the sin of the golden calf, (Shemot 33:11, Rashi).
- The Mishna in Ta'anit 4:8 associates the 17th of Tammuz as the "Fast of the Fourth Month" mentioned by the prophet Zechariah. According to this Mishna, the 17th of Tammuz will be transformed in the messianic era in a day that"shall be joy to the House of Judah" full of "gladness and cheerful feasts".
- This day is the beginning of the Three Weeks, an annual period of mourning over the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. [Followed by 7 weeks of consolation=10 weeks—Moza]
"Tisha B'Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar because of the incredible series of tragedies which occurred on that date throughout Jewish History."
- The sin of the spies caused Hashem to decree that the Children of Israel who left Egypt would not be permitted to enter the land of Israel;
- The first Temple was destroyed;
- The second Temple was destroyed;
- Betar, the last fortress to hold out against the Romans during the Bar Kochba revolt in the year 135, fell, sealing the fate of the Jewish people.
- One year after the fall of Betar, the Temple area was plowed.
- In 1492, King Ferdinand of Spain issued the expulsion decree, setting Tisha B'Av as the final date by which not a single Jew would be allowed to walk on Spanish soil.
- World War I – which began the downward slide to the Holocaust – began on Tisha B’av.
13 Nissan, 5764 (April 4, 2004)
2. Esther 3:12,13 Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring. And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
14 Nissan, 5764 (April 5, 2004)
1. Vayikra (Lev) 23:5 In the first month on the fourteenth of the month in the afternoon is the time of the pesach-offering to HASHEM.The festival begins in the evening, but the pesach-offering is brought during the afternoon of the fourteenth. In the Torah, the word pesach is used exclusively to refer to the offering. The festival, as in the next verse, is called Festival of Matzos. (Stone Chumash)
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2. Fast observed only by firstborn males, commemorating the fact that they were saved from the plague of the firstborn in Egypt—Judaism 101.
For more on Passover, please see online book:
The Temple, Its Ministry and Services
Alfred Edersheim
Chapter 11: The Passover----------
3. Jews targeted for Passover murder
By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
April 5, 2004Jerusalem (jnewswire.com) - Much like their ancestors during the first Passover 3,500 years ago, the Jews of Israel will be the target of attempted mass murder during this year's celebration of the God-appointed feast.
While it is not uncommon for the Palestinian Arabs to up their efforts to kill Israelis during major biblical holidays, the threat this year is especially ominous.
Hamas in particular is believed to be out for revenge following the execution of its founder, Ahmed Yassin. The group would like nothing more than to perpetrate a mega attack during the memorial of Israel's exodus from Egypt.
Israel's security forces have been put on highest alert, and civilians with gun licenses have been told to carry their weapons.
High alert
Israel's security forces have gone on high alert ahead of the weeklong Passover holiday, amid an influx of intelligence warnings of planned "Palestinian" terror attacks.
The Palestinian Arabs traditionally put extra effort into killing Israeli Jews during major biblical holidays.
And this Passover will be no different, according to Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz.
"Terror organizations, in particular Hamas, will make every effort during Passover to carry out a large scale attack," Mofaz said during Sunday's cabinet meeting.
In response to the threat, thousands of Israeli police and IDF soldiers have been deployed throughout the country to guard worshippers and vacationers.
Israel has also imposed a full military closure on the PA-controlled territories, which will remain in place until after Israel's Independence Day on April 26.
In addition to the defense measures, Mofaz said the IDF would continue to launch preemptive anti-terror operations into "Palestinian" cities.
Call for vigilance
The defense establishment has recommended that Israel's Jewish civilians enjoy the holiday and continue with their Passover plans.
But Mofaz also called for increased vigilance.
On Monday, Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishky called on all Israelis with a valid gun license to carry their weapons with them during Passover.
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4. Man with lamb evicted from Western Wall
JPost.com Staff Apr. 5, 2004A man, described as a right-winger by Yediot Ahronot's website Ynet, was booted out of the entrance to the Western Wall in Jerusalem Monday afternoon after he arrived at the holy site carrying a sacrificial lamb.
The man intended to sacrifice the lamb on an altar inside the Temple Mount.
Police refused the man entry, and removed him from the area.
15 Nissan, 5764 (April 6, 2004)
1. Vayikra (Lev) 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Matzos [Feast of Unleavened Bread] to HASHEM; you shall eat matzos for a seven-day period. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall do no laborious work. You shall bring a fire-offering to HASHEM for a seven-day period; on the seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. (Stone Chumash)(Outside Israel both the first and last day's convocation are two days instead of one.)
Please see online book:
The Temple, Its Ministry and Services
Alfred Edersheim
Chapter 13: The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Day of Pentecost----------
2. Josh 5:11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.
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3. U.S. and Israeli officials have reached a tentative agreement on key components of an Israeli plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported late Tuesday night.
According to the report, which quoted sources close to the negotiations, President Bush is expected to back the disengagement plan as an interim step while his peace initiative remains stalled.
The U.S.-Israeli understandings were hammered out last week in talks in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and senior U.S. officials, the report said.
Israel Radio also reported Wednesday that Sharon invited Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the prime minister's Negev ranch for talks Tuesday night over the disengagement plan, to which Netanyahu has granted his conditional support.
Netanyahu's backing is viewed as critical to the success of an announced referendum among members of the Likud party. The referendum is expected to be held in mid-May, following scheduled April 14 talks in Washington between Bush and Sharon.
...
Seeking cooperation from Egypt, Jordan U.S. and Israeli officials have been negotiating the details of the withdrawal in almost weekly high-level meetings, and are seeking cooperation from Egypt, Jordan and others.
U.S. and Israeli officials want to make sure the withdrawal does not allow Hamas to cement its grip over Palestinian affairs in Gaza, where the militants have been a powerful force. Washington regards Hamas, which has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in Israel, as a terrorist organization.
Egypt has offered to secure its side of the border with Gaza, a move Israel sees as crucial to staunching the flow of weapons to Hamas.
Bush will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on Monday. The president will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah on April 21 in Washington.
The Palestinians, while welcoming Sharon's announced intention to withdraw from all Gaza settlements and four enclaves in the West Bank, have said unless Israel quits the West Bank entirely there is little hope of reviving the road map with its vision of Palestinian statehood by 2005.
They fear Sharon will annex West Bank settlement blocs in drawing what he has said would be a new security line.
The White House says it is still seeking a negotiated final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, and wants Sharon to stick as closely as possible to the road map.
Speaking in a holiday interview to Haaretz, Sharon said that the plan would also include the evacuation of four settlements in the West Bank.
16 Nissan, 5764 (April 7, 2004)
2. Joshua 5:12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.----------
3. 2 Chron 29:17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
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4. PM SHARON SPEAKS WITH BRITISH PM BLAIR [about disengagement]
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Wednesday, 07 April, 2004Prime Minister Ariel Sharon this afternoon (Wednesday), 7.4.2004, spoke with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had phoned in order to express his support for the disengagement plan and the step that Israel is taking. UK Prime Minister Blair added that he intends to act within the international community to enlist support for the plan. Prime Minister Sharon thanked his British counterpart for his support.
Prime Minister Sharon said that he decided to proceed with the disengagement plan because there is no partner on the Palestinian side who is ready to implement the roadmap. The Prime Minister noted that terror is continuing without the Palestinian Authority (PA) taking any measures to halt it; he stressed that the key to dialogue with the Palestinians is the absolute cessation of terror, violence and incitement and the implementation of reforms by the PA.
UK Prime Minister Blair said that the disengagement plan needs to lead to the international community becoming involved in improving conditions in the PA and making it clear to it that security reforms must be carried out and that terror must be fought.
The two leaders agreed to continue their dialogue after they visit Washington.
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il----------
5. Background: Retreat Puts State a Photo Op Away Under Roadmap?
Aaron Lerner
Date: 7 April 2004Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asserted in his Passover Eve interviews that a sovereign Palestinian state will not form in the upcoming years after Israel retreats from the Gaza Strip and the Roadmap assures Israel that this will not happen before the Palestinians destroy the terror infrastructure. A reading of the Roadmap, however, finds that a sovereign Palestinian state within the evacuated Gaza Strip may be a matter of photo opportunities away.
While the Roadmap does call for Palestinian security activity in both the first and second phases - with a sovereign state possible in the second phase - in truth the roadmap can be fulfilled by photo-ops since it requires that efforts "begin" and "move forward" but no that anything is actually accomplished.
It is noteworthy that the Roadmap not only declines to provide for measurable standards of Palestinian security performance in either phase one or phase two, it gives the Quartet the exclusive right to determine if Palestinian activity is sufficient to warrant the formation of a sovereign state. Even if is grossly obvious that the Palestinians have failed to perform by any standard, the Road Map allows the Quartet to give the green light to a sovereign state since the Quartet is to judge the situation "taking into account performance of both parties". Thus the Quartet can even concede that the Palestinians haven't done much but then argue that "both parties have failed equally in their performance" and thus it is possible to progress to a sovereign state.
That's the Quartet - not the U.S.. The roadmap gives no special standing to the U.S. within the Quartet, so even if the U.S. is not satisfied with Palestinian performance this is no guarantee that the Road Map won't march on to a Palestinian state.
In sharp contrast to "final and comprehensive permanent status agreement that ends the Israel-Palestinian conflict" that "the Parties reach" - meaning the result of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the sovereign Palestinian state formed in phase two is "through a process of Israeli-Palestinian engagement". The term "engagement" does not require negotiations. In fact, Sharon's retreat and the Palestinian take-over of control of evacuated areas could readily be construed as "a process of Israeli-Palestinian engagement."
To summarize: a retreat from the Gaza Strip that relies on the terms of reference of the Road Map creates conditions that allow the Quartet to decide to sanction the formation of a sovereign Palestinian state within evacuated areas - regardless of the actual performance of the Palestinians. Once this happens the key requirement of the Israeli security establishment - control of entry and exit via land air and sea from the Gaza Strip - will be beyond Israel's reach as Israel's blockade of a sovereign Gaza is challenged by various nations.
Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
Website: http://www.imra.org.il----------
6. Club Director: "The chip will prevail...I believe wholeheartedly in the chip system."
Violet Jones
Infowars.com
April 7, 2004Baja Beach Club owner Conrad Chase wanted something unique to identify his VIP patrons. Other clubs had special jewelry or key chains, but he was looking for something special. After brainstorming, he came up with the idea to implant his VIP members with VeriChip's implantable microchip.
Alex has spoken many times over the years about how they would make the chip "fun," and how, by giving it an elite status, an entire generation of young teenagers would soon be arguing with their parents demanding that they let them be implanted so that they can be in the "in" crowd. The Baja Beach Club and Chase have proved that the trend has started.
When I spoke to Mr. Chase this morning he told me that his implant launch had gotten the international media's attention. He himself was implanted at the media launch of the VIP implant system along with stars from the Spanish version of the TV Show, "Big Brother," (called "Grand Hermano" in Spain).
He also told me that he had been in touch with the VeriChip Corporation and that there were several new developments with their implant system including the Belgian subsidiary of firearm company, FN Herstal, which manufactures Browning and Smith and Wesson firearms, launching a implant-firearm system which would make a firearm functional only to the individual implanted with its corresponding microchip.
The Baja Beach Club is one of Barcelona's hottest night spots. The website describes its VIP area:
"En Baja Beach Club contamos con una zona especialmente habilitada para nuestro público VIP, así como diversos servicios exclusivos para dicho público.
Somos la primera discoteca del mundo en ofrecer el VIP VeriChip. Mediante un chip digital integrado, nuestros VIPs pueden identificarse cómo tal, así como pagar sus consumiciones sin la necesidad de aportar ningún tipo de documento.
Translation:
"We have a special zone at Baja beach Club where only VIPs are allowed, which has various exclusive services for these members.
We are the first discotheque in the world to offer the VIP VeriChip. Using an integrated (imbedded) microchip, our VIPS can identify themselves and pay for their food and drinks without the need for any kind of document (ID)."
More:
infowars.com----------
7. Posted on Wed, Apr. 07, 2004
Al-Sadr's militia named after messianic image
By Tish Wells
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Muqtada al-Sadr summoned one of Shiite Islam's most messianic images when he chose the name Mahdi Army for his militia. The mahdi is believed to be the successor to Muhammad who will return to save the world.
The word isn't mentioned in the Quran or in the collected sayings attributed to Muhammad, known as the hadiths. But the term is common to both Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam as the term for a leader who will bring righteousness to the world.
The title means "the divinely guided one" but refers to differing concepts, depending on the believer. Some Muslims believe the mahdi will come in conjunction with the second coming of Jesus.
For the largest branch of Shiites, however, the "mahdi" is the 12th imam or leader of the Muslim faith who is said to have gone into hiding in the ninth century and who Shiites believe is still alive and will return at the day of judgment.
The concept is so holy, say some, that few in Islam would dare use it to describe themselves, which makes the actions of al-Sadr's militia appear all the more audacious.
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8. QUICK FLIP OF EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD REVEALED
By Maggie McKee
New Scientist
April 7, 2004The Earth's magnetic field takes an average of only 7000 years to reverse its polarity, but the switch happens much more quickly near the equator, according to the most comprehensive study yet of the last four reversals.
"It's important to get an idea of how fast or slow this process is because it ends up controlling our idea of how the field is generated in the first place," says study author Bradford Clement, an earth scientist at Florida International University in Miami, US.
Previous studies have reported a bewildering range of transition times, from a few thousand to nearly 30,000 years. So Clement scoured the published data on the most recent reversals to set the record straight.
He used data from 30 cores drilled from the beds of lakes or seas, whose minerals clearly recorded the magnetic field as sediments in the water slowly solidified into rock. The cores were taken from latitudes ranging from 46 degrees south to 60 degrees north and from a wide range of longitudes.
Clement found that the duration of the transitions varied with latitude, from 2000 years near the equator to 11,000 years nearer the poles. This result concurs with a much smaller study he conducted 20 years ago using just 10 cores.
"Now the data set looks more robust overall, and the variation with latitude helps explain why people were reporting different durations," Clement told New Scientist.
Random timing
Studies of ocean sediments and lava flows show the Earth has undergone several hundred field reversals, with the most recent confirmed flip occurring about 780,000 years ago. But their timing appears random and physicists do not understand what causes them.
The Earth's magnetic field is generated by the flow of liquid iron, an electrical conductor, in the Earth's outer core, between 3000 and 5000 kilometres beneath the surface. It is therefore likely that some change in the flow causes the reversals.
But the many models put forward to explain the phenomenon are "a long way from being realistic", says Clement. "The theory gets very complicated very quickly, and there are so many models it's hard to figure out what's what."
Ronald Merrill, a geophysicist at the University of Washington, in Seattle, US, agrees: "We can't do the theory right, so we're trying to find more data to find out the character of the reversals."
Shrinking magnet
Merrill says better knowledge of the reversals will help constrain the many models. And it may even shed light on some evidence published in 2002 suggesting that the Earth is now in the first stages of a polarity flip.
In the simplest models of reversals, the Earth's magnetic field behaves like a bar magnet that points roughly along the planet's axis of rotation. It shrinks in strength over time, growing up again in the opposite direction.
Clement's result "tells us the magnetic field is becoming more complex during a reversal," says Merrill. This could occur if secondary components of the magnetic field -- perhaps caused by eddies of molten iron at shallower depths -- remain constant as the primary field -- caused by iron flowing deep in the outer core -- shrinks to nothing.
Clement, however, believes both the primary and secondary components of the field change together.
Journal reference: Nature (vol 428, p 637)
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994865
17 Nissan, 5764 (April 8, 2004)
18 Nissan, 5764 (April 9, 2004)
3. BELGIAN JEWS THREATENED BY EURO-ARAB LEAGUEBelgium's Jews, in particular Antwerp's Jewish diamond merchants, have been put on notice by the Arab European League (AEL).
"We want to warn Antwerp's Jewish community in its entirety to be on its guard. The community's support for Israel is no secret," Ahmed Azzuz, head of the AEL in Belgium told the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique.
"The AEL calls on the Jewish community in Antwerp to cease its support of, and distance itself from, the state of Israel. If not, attacks in Antwerp are almost unpreventable," Azzuz had earlier told the Belgian Flemish magazine Knack, adding, "Every year, 200 Belgian-Israeli reservists leave for Israel to kill innocent civilians."
According to an Israel Channel 1 television report, the Jewish community is taking the threats seriously, and have already contacted elected Jewish officials, the local police and the nation's justice minister. A member of the Belgian diamond merchant's community interviewed on the program confirmed reports that members of the Jewish community are afraid and at present, refrain from being outdoors during the nighttime hours.
Peter Meeus reminded La Libre Belgique, "The quarter was already targeted in 1981, when terrorists attacked a Portuguese synagogue."
The AEL's Azzuz insisted in the media that his statements were not threats.
A spokeswoman for Antwerp police said rigorous security measures had already been introduced.
Arutz Sheva News Service
Friday, Apr. 9, 2004 / Nissan 18, 5764 - Fourth Day of Passover
19 Nissan, 5764 (April 10, 2004)
20 Nissan, 5764 (April 11, 2004)
2. Lev 23:9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.----------
4. Prayer For Peace, End Of Terror
April 11, 2004
(CBS/AP) Pope John Paul II called Sunday for world leaders to resolve conflicts in Iraq, the Middle East and Africa, and used his Easter message to pray that hope will conquer the “inhuman” and growing phenomenon of terrorism.
He also urged that all the children of Abraham — the Biblical patriarch considered the father of Christianity, Islam and Judaism — to “rediscover the brotherhood that they share and that prompts in them designs of cooperation and peace.”
“May the culture of life and love render vain the logic of death,” he said.
For the second straight year, President Bush was celebrating Easter Sunday at Fort Hood, whose troops have come under deadly attacks in Iraq.
Bush made the 50-mile helicopter flight from his Crawford ranch, arriving as a light rain fell and telling reporters, “Happy Easter.” It was the president's first public appearance since he arrived for an Easter break on his ranch on April 5.
At least nine troops from the base were killed in Iraq in the past week. Thirty-one troops from Fort Hood who were wounded in a firefight in Baghdad last week were airlifted back to the central Texas base for medical treatment and family reunions.
Accompanying the president on the half-day trip were his wife, mother-in-law, twin daughters, parents and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Vice President Dick Cheney attended Easter services with his wife, Lynne, at a nondenominational English-speaking Protestant church in Tokyo. The vast majority of Japanese are both Shinto and Buddhist.
Cheney is in Japan pledging U.S. support to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in pressing ahead with plans to double Japan's noncombat forces in Iraq -- despite the furor over the abduction of three citizens, U.S. officials said.
The kidnapping of the Japanese by Iraqi militants cast a pall over Cheney's visit as hundreds of anti-war demonstrators took to the streets to urge their government to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
In southern Iraq, some 1.5 million Shiite pilgrims marked one of their holiest religious days. In the city of Karbala, hundreds of Shiite militiamen - but no police - patrolled the street preparing for a possible U.S. assault against rebellious followers of al-Sadr.
Saturday was al-Arbaeen, the 40th and final day of the mourning period for Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, who was martyred in a 7th century battle. Ceremonies last until Sunday night.
Shiite Muslims flailed themselves with chains and slashed their heads with swords, staining their clothing with blood as they mourned for Hussein, one of their most revered saints.
In Saudi Arabia, where Shiites comprise 10 percent to 15 percent of the population, worshippers observed the mourning more freely than in the past. In the eastern provinces, where Shiites are concentrated, many marched in the streets peacefully on Friday night and Saturday, with police watching but not intervening, witnesses said.
Saudi Shiites also donated blood to Iraqis, some staged a play in a school theater, and others stepped on the American and Israeli flags that bore the word “Terrorists.”
Bahrain's Shiites, a slight majority, won the freedom to carry out their religious rituals as part of significant concessions from the nation's Sunni rulers following a wave of unrest in the mid-1990s.
Ambulances were on hand during Saturday’s procession in Bahrain’s capital Manama, and paramedics treated the wounds of many mourners, some of whom had fainted from blood loss.
Some posters along the march showed Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas who was assassinated by Israel last month.
Many others, including women and children walked over or spat on a U.S. flag sketched on the road outside a congregation hall. The stars of the hand-drawn flag were replaced with Stars of David, the symbol of the Israeli flag. Some also stamped on a sketched Israeli flag, whose Star of David was replaced with a swastika.
Bahrain is one of the more Westernized countries in the Gulf, though anti-American sentiment has been rising.
Many people in the Middle East accuse the United States of failing to curb Israel's actions against the Palestinians while supporting the Jewish state financially and militarily.
In Jerusalem, a few hundred Palestinian Christians and foreign pilgrims attended Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - built over the rocky mount believed to be the place where Jesus was crucified.
Thousands have made the Holy Week trip in years past. But many tourists and pilgrims have been frightened away by more than three years of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
Many Palestinian Christians from the West Bank couldn't reach Jerusalem due to travel restrictions imposed by the Israeli military.
Holy Week coincides with the weeklong Jewish Passover holiday, which ends tomorrow night.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to attend a Passover celebration in the largest West Bank settlement, Maale Adumim, on Monday night in an effort to win support for his plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip and four isolated West Bank settlements. He is scheduled to meet with President Bush on Wednesday.
John Paul delivered his message of peace in his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing — Latin for “To the City and the World,” — as he celebrated Easter Mass on the flower-decked steps of St. Peter's Basilica before tens of thousands of people.
The 83-year old pontiff delivered his annual holiday greetings in 62 languages.
The celebration is the most joyous holiday in the Christian calendar — the day according to the Bible that Jesus rose from the dead after crucifixion.
This year, Easter falls on the same day in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox calendars — a coincidence John Paul cited in expressing hope that one day the two churches might always celebrate Easter together.
“I pray to the risen Lord that all of us baptized may soon be able to together relive this fundamental feast of our faith each year on the same day,” he said.
Speaking strongly and clearly despite having completed a grueling spate of Holy Week ceremonies, John Paul urged the faithful to find the courage to confront the many evils facing the world today.
“In particular, may (humanity) find the strength to face the inhuman and unfortunately growing phenomenon of terrorism, which rejects life and brings anguish and uncertainty to the daily lives of so many hard-working and peaceful people,” John Paul said.
He called for governments and international institutions to overcome the troubles afflicting people around the globe and work for a more peaceful world order.
“May world leaders be confirmed and sustained in their efforts to resolve satisfactorily the continuing conflicts that cause bloodshed in certain regions of Africa, Iraq and the Holy Land,” he said.
John Paul has frequently used his Easter message to reflect on war, poverty and terrorism — and his remarks this year appeared particularly directed to the fresh violence in Iraq and the ongoing hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians.
Dressed in golden robes and a jeweled miter, the pope was alert and spoke clearly throughout the Mass, despite having struggled through a three-hour Easter Vigil that ended just a few hours earlier.
On Friday John Paul, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, braved the chilly night air to preside over a reenactment of Christ's Passion at Rome's Colosseum.
On Sunday, John Paul celebrated Mass under an overcast sky, surrounded by cardinals in red and an arch of pink tulips and yellow daffodils arranged around the altar on the steps of St. Peter's.
Security was relatively tight around St. Peter's Square on Sunday, with Italian police and Carabinieri officers checking the bags of pilgrims and tourists as they entered the piazza and a ring of police cars at its edge.
The joyous celebrations in Rome contrasted with the muted Easter festivities in Jerusalem, where a few hundred Palestinian Christians and foreign pilgrims attended Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — built over the skull-shaped rocky mount believed to be the place where Jesus was crucified.
Elsewhere, Orthodox and Protestant Christians also celebrated Easter on Sunday.
In Istanbul, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, said Easter was an occasion for hope despite religious “fanaticism” and the killing of innocent people in conflicts and war.
----------
5. May 1997. By: David Fry, Jr., the Newsletter, P.O. Box 21, Keene, TX 76059
The following excerpt was sent in response to our last Newsletter "Was Comet Hale-Bopp an Omen" (author unknown).
Comet Hale-Bopp update
Apparently Bob Wadsworth, who has done intensive work plotting, and studying comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake discovered something interesting. A coincidence! While plotting the paths of Hyakutake during the month of April 96, against the projected path of comet Hale-Bopp during the month of April 97 an almost perfect [cross] is formed where they intersect at almost a 90 degree angle. Furthermore, both comets crossed this point on the EXACT same day of the year (April 11th). In other words, on April 11th 1996, comet Hyakutake occupied the same spot in the sky that comet Hale-Bopp did on April 11th 1997.
Now, where is this point in the sky? This point is in the constellation of Perseus, who holds the severed head of the Gorgon, Medusa. This intersection point just happens to be the middle of the head of Medusa at the eye. This eye is the star ALGOL. Therefore, in Greek mythology these two comets intersect on the same day, in different years, forming an almost perfect cross in the eye of Medusa!
Traditionally, according to the Starlore Handbook, ALGOL is the MOST MALEVOLENT star of the heavens. More interesting is what the Hebrews called this star. In Hebrew it is known as the HEAD OF SATAN!
...
The following is a quote from "The Witness of the Stars" by E. W. Bullinger, pp. 116-117, concerning the star Algol:
"It is a most remarkable phenomenon that so many of these enemies should be characterized by variable stars! But this head of Medusa, like the neck of Cetus, has one. AlGol is continually changing. In about 69 hours it changes from the 4th magnitude to the 2nd. During four hours of this period it gradually diminishes in brightness, which it recovers in the succeeding four hours; and in the remaining part of time, invariably preserves its greatest lustre. After the expiration of this time its brightness begins to decrease again. Fit emblem of our great enemy, who, "like a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8); then changing into a subtle serpent (Genesis 3:83); then changing again into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). "Transforming himself" continually, to devour, deceive, and destroy." (end of article)...In searching for something meaningful about the Antichrist which has to do with April 11 (1996 & 1997), except for it occurring near the Passover season, little relevance is determined.
But one more coincidence appears to be in store. Again April 11 is involved. No, not April 11 of 1996, or of 1997; it occurs in 1998. Yes, next year the Passover occurs on April 11.
For more info on Perseus, please see:
1. The Witness of the Stars, The Sign Aries (The Ram or Lamb) by E. W. Bullinger
2. Mazzaroth, by Frances Rolleston.For info on how Comet Hyakutake spelled out this message in the sky:
"The One who paid the price which covers,
He cometh for His sheepfold
to deliver the captives and
to deliver the redeemed"and how Comet Hale-Bopp spelled out the message:
"The Redeemer is Triumphant
having fought and smitten the enemy and
is returning as promised
to deliver the redeemed from their bondage and affliction.
Messiah, the Judge of all the earth, the Light of the world
will come as our glorious Prince of Princes
to lead the pilgrims safely home"please see file Hail, Hale-Bopp!.
----------
6. Issue 12.04 - April 2004
Apocalypse Now
How a hologram, a blimp, and a massively multiplayer game could bring peace to the Holy Land.
By Joshua Davis
Yitzhaq Hayutman holds the key to peace on Earth - it's on a floppy disk in his pants pocket. With his full white beard, bald pate, and well-pressed khakis, the 61-year-old Israeli cybernetics expert and tech investor looks like Moses done over for a Banana Republic ad. Right now, he's showing me how he wants to position an airborne hologram over the Dome of the Rock, a gold-capped shrine that's one of the most holy sites in Islam. "The blimp will go there," Hayutman says pointing into the blue. "And eventually the Messiah will come."
"Hayutman...[b]orn into a wealthy family, he inherited a small fortune in real estate - his grandfather was one of the founders of Tel Aviv.
Full story:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.04/holyland_pr.html
21 Nissan, 5764 (April 12, 2004)
4. Remarks by President Bush and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in Press Availability Prairie Chapel Ranch Crawford, Texas 11:52 A.M. CDT www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040412-3.html[IMRA: President Bush says "There will never be a Palestinian state, in my judgment, if terrorists are willing to kill. And so the first step we've got to do is to work on the mutual security concerns of the region" - but it should be noted that in contrast to these remarks, Mr. Bush's Road Map makes possible the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state in the evacuated areas after "declarations" and the "start" of PA security activities (=photo ops) that are judged by a consensus of the Quartet - as compared to Israel's activities - to justify the creation of that state WITHOUT requiring either Israeli consent or even Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
President Mubarak, who presented the US with a laundry list of advanced weapons that would enable him to carry out a rapid deployment - including against Israel - announced that he would send "groups" to the Gaza Strip after the Israeli retreat.]
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all for coming. I'm pleased to welcome my friend, Hosni Mubarak, to my home. Welcome. I always look forward to visiting with him, and I look forward to hearing his wise counsel. I appreciate his frank views on the many challenges that face our two nations and that face the greater Middle East.
Our nations have a relationship that is strong and warm. Our people share the bonds of friendship, a commitment to prosperity and peace and regional stability. Egypt is a strategic partner of the United States and we value President Mubarak's years of effort on behalf of the peace and stability of the Middle East.
The meetings we have just had focused on these goals and on ways to make the Middle East safer and more secure. We recognize that the starting point for a prosperous and peaceful Middle East must be the rejection of terror. Egypt has taken a firm stand against terror by working to disrupt the activities and capabilities of the region's terrorist organizations. These are the policies of a nation and a statesman that understand the threat that terrorism poses to all of us -- to my nation, to his, to all the Arab states, to Israel and to the future of any Palestinian state.
Terrorism must be opposed and it must be defeated. And I'm grateful for President Mubarak's support in the global war against terror.
Our objective in the Middle East must be true peace -- not just a pause between wars -- which can only happen within a framework of democracy and stability. I'm pleased that Egypt has engaged its neighbor, Israel, on closer trade ties that will help the Egyptian people find jobs and improve their lives. President Mubarak and I discussed the possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and our shared view that creation of a democratic, peaceful Palestinian state is a necessary goal on the road to peace.
We also believe that the future of the Middle East and the future of Iraq are closely linked. And I am grateful for President Mubarak's support for Iraq as it transitions to democracy and stability. The people of the greater Middle East have a right to be safe, secure, prosperous and free.
President Mubarak and I spoke about the future of the region and of Egypt. Just as Egypt has shown the way toward peace in the Middle East, it will set the standard in the region for democracy by strengthening democratic institutions and political participation.
I'm encouraged by the ongoing debate on reform in Egypt, including the excellent discussions involving civil society representatives from the Arab world who met at the Alexandria Library in March. And President Mubarak can be confident in my friendship and America's partnership as he moves forward to realize the hopes of his people.
I welcome my good friend, Hosni, to my home. Our countries have three decades of solid, beneficial relations behind us, and the United States will continue to work with Egypt and the Arab world in a spirit of common purpose and mutual respect. Thank you for coming, sir.
PRESIDENT MUBARAK: I would like to thank President Bush for inviting me to his ranch in Crawford, and for the friendly atmosphere and the gracious hospitality that prevailed throughout our meeting today. I had constructive, candid and friendly discussions with President Bush and with members of his administration on a wide range of issues of mutual concern.
Our strategic relationship, which has matured over the past 30 years, has constituted a force for stability, both regionally and globally. The statement issued today, on the 30th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and the United States, gives a clear reflection of our strong commitment to advance our special relationship and deepen our cooperation.
Together we have faced the challenges of peace, fighting terror and defeating aggression. In cooperation with the United States, many of Egypt's reform and development objectives have been achieved over the years. Our partnership is based on trust, mutual respect, and the increasing political will on both sides to continue to assume the responsibilities of leadership. These same principles will guide us into the future as we face a new set of challenges on the world stage and as we enter a new phase of reform on our domestic front.
Egypt has moved with vigor and determination over the past years to shoulder its increasing responsibilities in the Middle East. At the same time, we've confronted domestic challenges through ambition and irreversible program of reform. Our reform efforts have and will continue to emanate from my government's desire to further widen the scope of democracy, freedom and political participation in a vibrant and dynamic civil society.
Egypt's political reform program constitutes a core component of our comprehensive effort to improve the quality of life of our people. Our efforts continue to focus on opening up new opportunities for our citizens to improve their livelihood within a competitive global environment. In this, we seek to build on our numerous achievements in the areas of good governance, sustainable economic growth, education and health care within a caring society in which social policies are central to our development goals. We continue to move forward within the process of debate and interaction between government, civil society and different political parties in Egypt.
We have also expanded the debate to include participation from the Arab world through a process of interaction among the civil society representatives in the region, which was launched at the Library of Alexandria last March. Your support, Mr. President, for our steps in that endeavor is appreciated.
On regional issues we discussed our respective responsibilities regarding the peace process in the Middle East. The United States has always assumed a leading role in the search for peace in our region. I expressed my strong desire to see that this leading role continue, with ever greater vigor and determination to realize our vision of a two-state solution as early as possible in the context of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
I expressed to the President the centrality of the conflict to the people of the region, it is our conviction that reviving the hopes of peace, through our determined efforts to put the peace process back on track is central to enhancing the prospects of reform and the prosperity in the region. Egypt has pioneered the path of peace in the region for over 25 years, and will continue to assume its responsibilities for peace today.
I reaffirmed to President Bush, Egypt's steadfast commitment to do whatever it takes to revive the hopes for a comprehensive settlement and to bring the parties back to the path of their -- negotiations.
On Iraq, I conveyed to the President our serious concerns about the current state of affairs, particularly in the security and the humanitarian areas. I further stressed the importance of restoring Iraq's sovereignty as soon as possible within a context that preserves its territorial integrity and unites all Iraqis toward a common future.
The recent efforts to increase the role of the U.N. in that process is an important step that should be further encouraged. We discussed our joint effort to fight terror. We agreed to intensify our extensive cooperation in this regard, to include finding solutions to the political and economic problems that represent the underlying causes of terrorism. We discussed also various aspects of our bilateral visions, including the importance of deepening our economic and cultural ties.
In the economic field, I briefed the President on our economic reform program and said the importance of free trade with the United States in attaining our economic objectives. I also stressed the importance of promoting cultural exchange and furthering the links between civil society in both our nations. This is certain to enhance mutual understanding between our two peoples, and between the United States and the Arab world at large.
I am confident, Mr. President, after our talks today, that through our strategic partnership we will continue to confront the challenge before us with greater determination and resolute leadership.
Thank you.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir. Good job.
...
Q Thank you, sir. If I could ask both of you -- are both of you prepared to endorse the Israeli withdrawal plan?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Steve, I welcome -- first of all, let's not prejudge what Prime Minister Sharon is going to tell me. So I don't want to put words in his mouth until he actually comes to America on Wednesday. We discussed the rumors of such a withdrawal. And we discussed it in the context of the two-state solution and the roadmap.
In other words, we both are in agreement that if Israel makes the decision to withdraw, it doesn't replace the road map, it is a part of the road map, so that we can continue progress toward the two-state solution. And I really welcomed my friend's advice. He is -- he knows the area well. And he's been in touch with the parties and he has got good judgment on this matter. Let's wait until the Prime Minister comes. But if he were to decide to withdraw from the Gaza, it would be a positive development.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT BUSH: He wanted to know your -- just a second, excuse me. He wanted to have your reaction to a possible withdrawal, if you'd like to share that. You don't have to, if you don't want to. He's a kind fellow --
PRESIDENT MUBARAK: I have discussed this with the President, the withdrawal from Gaza. I think any withdrawal from the occupied territory is very highly appreciated. But I would like the withdrawal to coincide with the road map, which is very important, because withdrawing from Gaza alone, without connecting it with the road map, we never know it will be Gaza alone. It will be very difficult. It will not be accepted by the public opinion in the area. So the withdrawal from Gaza, if it is a part from the road map, I think it will be very highly appreciated.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, the point is that the decision doesn't replace the path toward the establishment of a Palestinian state that will provide hope for the Palestinian people and provide continuity, and put the institutions in place necessary for a state to evolve. I'm confident there will be ample willingness of people in Europe or the United States government to enact economic -- to take economic measures necessary to provide a hopeful future. And we're in accord on this issue. And I look forward to meeting with the Prime Minister and hear what he has to say.
Final question, if you'd like to call on somebody.
Q Thank you very much. My question is for you, Mr. Excellency Bush, and Mr. Excellency Mubarak. But let me first tell you, happy Easter, before asking about the peace process. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. We had a great Easter. I'm sorry it's so chilly here. It's usually warmer.
Q Thank you very much. So you announced your vision of a two-state solution almost three years ago --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.
Q Do you think this vision can be realized in spite of the Israeli policy of expanding settlements and establishment of the separate wall, which violates the green line?
And for you, Mr. President Mubarak, how can Egypt help the Palestinians to take their responsibilities after the Israeli withdrawal?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Great question. Yes, I think we can achieve a two-state solution. You're right, I think I made the speech at the United Nations in 2001, if I'm not mistaken -- September of 2001 -- the first American President to do so, to make that public declaration a policy. And the reason I did is because I believe it's in the Palestinians' interest to have their own state, and I believe it's in Israel's interest that the Palestinians develop a peaceful state.
The reason why -- we've made some progress, by the way. There is what they call the road map, a strategy to achieve that, which is good. The problem is, is that there's terrorists who will kill people in order to stop the process. And that's why it is essential that we work together to stop terrorist killing. There will never be a Palestinian state, in my judgment, if terrorists are willing to kill. And so the first step we've got to do is to work on the mutual security concerns of the region. And we can't let people blow up a process. But that's what happened, as you might recall. And there's been suiciders and killers and -- you know -- and it's essential that we work together to stop that kind of terror.
It will be much easier for the Palestinians to assume their responsibilities -- and there are responsibilities for the Palestinians, particularly when it comes to developing a state that is a peaceful state -- it will make it a lot easier if we can continue to keep the pressure on the terrorists, make it a lot easier for them to assume their responsibilities.
PRESIDENT MUBARAK: The problem of the Middle East has --nearly about to be 50 years now. It's a very complicated problem, and if we keep it, more and more, it will be much more complicated than ever before. It could have been solved several years ago, but now it's very difficult. But in this context, I really thank President Bush, the first President of the United States who could say that, I'm ready to agree on establishing two states beside each other, independent states -- Palestinian state and the Israeli state. This is the first time we could hear it. We have to build on it.
Concerning Gaza, I think we could help a lot in Gaza by training the police, by giving them advice, by sending them some groups to make plans for them how to work. And in that regard, we are ready to do. We have contacts with them, we have contact with the different factions which could create problems now and then. And you remember they convened in Cairo several times. We are ready to invite them again to us to help stability in Gaza for a continuation for more withdrawal. Thank you.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.
By the way, tomorrow night I'm interested in answering more questions for you all. So if you pick out a red or blue tie --
Q A news conference?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Why not. See you at the East Room.
END 12:15 P.M. CDT
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
22 Nissan, 5764 (April 13, 2004)
ARAFAT APPROVED ATTACK ON U.S. CONVOYRAMALLAH [MENL] -- The United States has determined that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat approved an attack on a U.S. embassy convoy in which three Americans were killed in 2003.
U.S. diplomatic sources said a U.S. investigation into the bombing of the embassy convoy in the Gaza Strip in October 2003 pointed to a clear role by Arafat. The sources said Arafat granted approval to a plan to strike U.S. interests in PA areas. Arafat, the sources said, did not draft or approve any details for a Palestinian attack. But they said Arafat agreed to a proposal relayed by a high-level aide for the Palestinians to "pass a message" to the United States.
According to the sources, a senior Arafat aide and member of the Fatah Central Committee left Gaza City for Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah in September 2003 to seek approval for a Palestinian attack on U.S. interests in the area. The Fatah official, described as a liasion between Arafat and Palestinian insurgents in the Gaza Strip, complained of U.S. policy toward the PA and Arabs.
=== NOTE: The above is not the full item. This service contains only a small portion of the information produced daily by Middle East Newsline. For a subscription to the full service, please contact Middle East Newsline at: editor@menewsline.com for further details.
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il----------
ARAFAT WAS BEHIND U.S. TERROR ATTACK
The United States has determined that Yasser Arafat approved a terrorist attack on a U.S. embassy convoy in which three Americans were killed in 2003. Middle East Newsline reports in the name of U.S. diplomatic sources that an American investigation into the Gaza bombing last October indicated Arafat's clear role.
The sources said that Arafat did not draft or approve the details of the attack, but rather agreed to a proposal relayed by one of his high-level aides for the Palestinians to "send a message" to the United States. The idea for the attack came at a time when some Fatah officials complained that American policy towards the PA and the Arabs was unfair.
In the attack, which took place at the Beit Hanoun junction in northern Gaza on Oct. 15, 2003, three American security personnel were killed: John Branchizio, 37, of Texas; John Linde, Jr., 30, of Missouri, and Mark Parsons, 31, of New Jersey.
The PA recently released four "suspects" in the attack, after having put them on speedy trial two months ago. The trial aroused suspicion from the outset, coming only two days after the United States offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to the capture of the murderers - and less than two weeks after an American threat to freeze aid to the PA unless the matter was resolved. Until then, the PA had refused to cooperate with American law enforcement officials in attempting to find the guilty parties. State Department officials informed the PA at the time that the closed-door trial was unacceptable, and that they demanded "justice" - not a mock trial against four defendants whom the Americans believed to be innocent. "We are very concerned, and demand a true investigation that will bring the guilty parties to justice," said the U.S. statement.
Arutz Sheva News Service
www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Wednesday, Apr. 14, 2004 / Nissan 23, 5764
23 Nissan, 5764 (April 14, 2004)
24 Nissan, 5764 (April 15, 2004)
2. Daniel 10:4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel...Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 1,335 days. 13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
- September 28, 2000 Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon visits Temple Mount before Rosh HaShanah, routine visit before holidays, coordinated with Waqf. Muslims disturbed at "provocative" gesture of a Jewish leader going to their holiest Jewish site before Fall feasts begin.
- September 29, 2000 Riots begin, "intifada" incited and continues to the present day, daily Jewish presence on Temple Mount stopped and then restarted.
- September 29, 2000 + 1,290 days = April 11, 2004 Easter, etc. see above
- September 29, 2000 + 1,335 days = May 26, 2004 Shavuot/Pentecost according to Jewish reckoning (starting counting of omer on Nissan 16 instead of after the first sabbath after Passover)
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3. ISRAELIS SKEPTICAL ABOUT "HISTORIC DECLARATION"
It's being called a "historic declaration," but many Israelis don't quite see what's so historic about it. President Bush's letter to Prime Minister Sharon last night made the following points:
- Acceptance of Prime Minister Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza.
- Commitment to a "viable, contiguous, sovereign" Palestinian state.
- Israel's responsibilities: "The barrier being erected by Israel should be a security rather than political barrier, should be temporary rather than permanent, should not prejudice any final status issues including final borders, and should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities."
- The Road Map is still the plan of choice, under which the Palestinians must stop terrorism and incitement.
- Israel will continue to control airspace, territorial waters, and land passages in Gaza, "pending agreements on other arrangements."
- "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel." [Ed. note: Some commentators feel that the word 'rather' indicates the lack of an absolute rejection of the 'right of Arab return' to Israel.]
- "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949..."
The latter two points were particularly emphasized in initial Israeli media reports as marking "historic departures" from previous U.S. positions. Many commentators and politicians disagreed, however, as detailed below.
The bottom line of the latest Sharon-Bush understanding is that Israel is to withdraw in the coming months from all of Gaza and expel its 8,000 residents - three generations' worth - in exchange for Presidential "commitments" and verbiage for the far-off future: the Arabs "must" stop terror and incitement; final borders "should" take into account Israeli population centers; Arab refugees "need not" enter Israel - and primarily, that the process must continue towards a "viable and contiguous" Palestinian state.
National Religious Party leader Effie Eitam said, "All the word-plays and intentions that we heard in Washington do not provide an answer to the security dangers and to the unbearable economic price of this plan. The expulsion of thousands of Jews from their homes will create a national trauma."
Bush praised Sharon, saying that he had taken "courageous and historic actions," and that the Israeli public "appreciates Sharon's leadership." It had widely been predicted that Bush would heap praise upon Sharon in order to prop up the latter's standing among the Likud members. The nearly 200,000 Likud party members are to vote on the unilateral withdrawal plan 17 days from now.
President Bush did not come near meeting Sharon's request for recognition for six settlement blocs such as Gush Etzion. The US President said that Israel's retention of certain communities must be negotiated in the final-status agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
It was also noted that Bush had not promised any economic help in relocating the 8,000 Jews and their property and businesses. Nor did the American leader agree to Israel's proposed route of the counter-terrorism partition fence.
It must also be emphasized that several Israeli obligations were not publicly mentioned, but are rather itemized in a separate letter by Sharon's top aide Dov Weisglass. These include: limits on construction in Judea and Samaria, the dismantling of outposts, lifting security checkpoints, and the unfreezing of money for the Palestinian Authority.
Arutz Sheva News Service
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Thursday, April 15, 2004 / Nissan 24, 5764
25 Nissan, 5764 (April 16, 2004)
U.S. REJECTS ISRAEL INVASION OF GAZAWASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has rejected an Israeli request for the right to invade the Gaza Strip following a unilateral withdrawal.
U.S. officials said the Bush administration refused to approve Israel's right to invade the Gaza Strip should the area be used as a staging ground for Palestinian attacks against the Jewish state. They said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sought a written commitment by President George Bush that the United States would understand such a military response in any Israeli effort to halt Palestinian attacks from the Gaza Strip.
Sharon, who met Bush on Wednesday, sought the inclusion of a U.S. understanding for massive Israeli military retaliation as part of the president's letter on the Israeli plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. Instead, Bush agreed to reaffirm U.S. support for Israel's right of self-defense. On Wednesday, Bush and Sharon exchanged letters regarding the Israeli withdrawal plan.
"It doesn't talk about a right to go back in [Gaza]," a senior administration official said of the Bush letter. "So what our hope is, that we can, working with states in the region, help the Palestinian institutions to take responsibility for security and to fight terror, because that's what's called for them to do in the roadmap and that will obviate all the rest of the discussion."
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26 Nissan, 5764 (April 17, 2004)
2. 17 April 2004
IDF SPOKESPERSON ANNOUNCEMENTLeader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, killed during a security forces operation in the northern Gaza Strip.
This evening, in a security forces operation in the Northern Gaza Strip, the IDF targeted a car carrying the leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who is directly responsible for the killing of scores of Israelis in numerous terror attacks.
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
ARCH-TERRORIST PLANNER, HAMAS LEADER RANTISI, KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKE
As the United States continues to pursue Bin Laden in Afghanistan, Israel got its man yesterday evening.
The extreme terrorist leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who became the leader of Hamas in Gaza less than a month ago, was felled by an Israeli helicopter missile attack on his car. Two of his bodyguards were also killed in the attack.
Israeli sources said that Rantisi was in the midst of planning a large-scale "quality" attack against Israel. In addition, a woman would-be terrorist - mother of seven children - who was caught in Ariel on Thursday planning to transfer a 20-kilogram bomb into pre-'67 Israel, told her investigators that her orders, and others, had come directly from Rantisi. The next morning, Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz gave the order to implement against Rantisi, within 36 hours, the long-standing government policy to kill Hamas leaders. An opportunity to strike at him just over a week ago was bypassed because of the potential danger to nearby civilians.
Minutes after the missile strike, Rantisi was taken in very critical condition to a hospital in Gaza, and died a short time later on the operating table. Rantisi escaped a previous IDF offensive strike when he was lightly hurt in a missile attack in Gaza last June.
Dan Gillerman, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, said that the attack was not retaliation for yesterday's murderous attack by a Palestinian suicide terrorist, in which an Israeli policeman was killed (see below), but "was part of Israel's long-term war against terrorism. This war is taking place in Spain and Kenya and Bali, and Israel is fighting this war as well."
Another government source told Army Radio that this was the first opportunity to strike at Rantisi, and that Israel will continue targeting terrorist leaders who seek to kill innocent Israelis - including whomever replaces Rantisi as leader of Hamas. "People who want to see stability in our region should not ask themselves why Israel killed him now," said Gillerman, "but rather why we did not do this before."
Arutz Sheva News Service
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Sunday, Apr. 18, 2004 / Nissan 27, 5764
HAMAS HISTORY OF MURDER
Known for his extremist views even within the extremist Hamas terror organization, Rantisi was among the founders of Hamas in 1987. He was arrested four times by Israel, sat in prison for several years, and was one of the 415 terrorists expelled to Lebanon in 1992. He served as Sheikh Yassin's deputy, and often said that any solution that included Arab recognition of "what is known as the State of Israel" would not be acceptable. He called often for suicide attacks against Israelis, and recently said that Ariel Sharon was "target number one."
Among dozens of Hamas terror attacks over the past 3.5 years of the Palestinian Authority-initiated Oslo War, a total of 186 people were killed in the ten worst Hamas atrocities. These included: * June 1, 2001 - Dolphinarium in Tel Aviv, 21 killed, mostly new-immigrant teenagers from the former Soviet Union * Aug. 9, 2001 - Sbarro's Pizzeria in Jerusalem, 15 killed, including the parents and three children of the Schijveschuurder family * Dec. 2, 2001 - Haifa bus, 15 killed * March 27, 2002 - Park Hotel in the midst of the Passover Seder, 30 killed, including six husband-and-wife couples * March 31, 2002 - Matza Restaurant in Haifa, 15 killed, including two sets of a father and two children * May 7, 2002 - Rishon Letzion hall, 16 killed * June 18, 2002 - #32 bus from Gilo, Jerusalem, 19 killed * March 5, 2003 - #37 bus in Haifa, 15 killed * June 11, 2003 - #14 bus, Jerusalem, 17 killed * Aug. 19, 2003 - #2 bus from Western Wall, 23 killed, including a mother and baby; father and son; and four other children
Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw jumped early yesterday evening to condemn Israel's action against the terrorist leader. Britain similarly was among the first to condemn Israel for the killing of long-time Hamas chief Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on March 22.
Officials in Jerusalem said last night, in response to PA claims, that the White House was not informed nor consulted in advance of the strike against Rantisi. The U.S. did not condemn the killing, but said that Israel should take into account the ramifications of its actions.
Hamas, predictably, said it would avenge Rantisi's death - although it is widely recognized that the strike against Rantisi has truly struck a blow at the Hamas organizational structure. Proof of this was seen in the fact that there is no "natural successor" on the scene. Rantisi proudly claimed leadership of Hamas after Israel's successful targeting of Yassin last month. Hours later, however, he was forced to backtrack when Khaled Meshal announced from Damascus that he was in charge. Meshal announced last night that the new leader's identity should be kept secret.
The leader has already been chosen, and some assume that he is Mahmoud A-Zahar. Israel Air Force battle helicopters attacked his home seven months ago, totally destroying the building, killing his eldest son and bodyguard, and injuring A-Zahar himself. A-Zahar is outspokenly against the existence of the State of Israel. On May 22, 2003, he told BBC's Tim Sebastian, "I'm telling you frankly, the attitude of Islam is not to accept a foreign state in this area." Sebastian asked, "So until Israel ceases to exist, you won't lay down your arms. Is that right?" A-Zahar replied, "First of all, we are a part of the independent Islamist-- this is the attitude of thousands and millions of people."
Arutz Sheva News Service
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Sunday, Apr. 18, 2004 / Nissan 27, 5764
27 Nissan, 5764 (April 18, 2004)
28 Nissan, 5764 (April 19, 2004)
29 Nissan, 5764 (April 20, 2004)
Last Update: 20/04/2004 16:23U.S. threatens to veto Security Council draft on Mideast
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
The United States deputy ambassador to the United Nations, James Cunningham, warned the UN Security Council on Monday that a draft resolution circulated its during emergency talks on the Middle East would likely be subject to a U.S. veto if it did not mention acts of terror committed by Hamas.
The Council met following a request by Arab states in the wake of Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
Council experts were expected to discuss the text of draft Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians blamed the U.S. during the meeting late Monday for emboldening Israel to assassinate Rantisi by vetoing last month's Security Council resolution condemning the "extrajudicial execution" of Hamas' founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on March 22.
But Israel countered that it has been forced to take "defensive actions," including killing Rantisi, because the Palestinians refuse to meet their international obligation to arrest terrorists and get rid of terrorist groups such as Hamas.
The exchange took place at the start of the meeting, sought by the Arab League to address Israeli military attacks and Rantisi's murder in an air strike on Saturday.
More than 40 countries spoke, and virtually all but the U.S. condemned Israel - including close U.S. ally Britain.
Algeria's UN Ambassador Abdallah Baali, the only Arab member on the council, introduced a draft resolution at the end of the meeting that demands an end to Israel's "extrajudicial executions," a halt to "all acts of violence including all acts of terrorism," and adherence to international humanitarian law.
"In the Palestinian territory, in the Arab nation and in the Muslim world, emotions are high and distress and frustration are deep," Baali warned. "If no action is taken, and Israel gets away again with these horrendous crimes, the situation might very rapidly deteriorate and go ultimately out of control."
The U.S. used its veto power on March 25 to quash a resolution condemning Israel for killing Yassin. U.S. diplomats said the measure failed to mention the militant group's record of bombings and shooting attacks during 3 1/2 years of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Nasser Al-Kidwa, the Palestinian observer to the UN, said Security Council action to promote peace and prevent further bloodshed is long overdue.
He blamed the council for allowing Israel "to continue acting beyond the parameters of international law, permitting it to use the most oppressive measures and practices to impose more death and destruction and loss on the Palestinian people under its occupation."
"It is without a doubt that the recent failure of the Security Council to condemn the extrajudicial execution of Sheikh Yassin and to take urgent measures to address the deterioration of the situation, due to the veto cast by one of the council's permanent members, has further emboldened the Israeli government to continue carrying out such illegal actions with impunity," Al-Kidwa said.
Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman said that the focus of the council should be the "acts of terror" perpetrated by Hamas, which has called for the destruction of Israel, "not the acts of self-defense necessary to prevent them."
"Were the current Palestinian leadership a genuine partner in peace, defensive actions such as the one Israel was recently compelled to undertake would not have been necessary," he said.
"If there is something 'extrajudicial' here it is the total refusal of the Palestinian leadership - for years - to act against terrorism."
Al-Kidwa accused Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of departing from the road map peace plan brokered by the U.S., the UN, the European Union and Russia with his unilateral plan to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank.
But Gillerman insisted that Sharon's plan can "rekindle the peace process" and facilitate the road map's goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace.
Cunningham said the focus now should be on advancing the road map, through Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, "and actions by either party that move us away from this goal are not helpful."
He said Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorist attacks, demanded that Palestinian leaders "act decisively against terror," and urged all parties "to exercise maximum restraint."
Hamas calls for Arab - Muslim alliance Meanwhile, Hamas political leader Khaled Mashal on Monday called for an Arab and Muslim alliance to defeat the United States and Israel.
"Our battle is with two sides: One of them is the strongest power in the world, the United States, and the second is the strongest power in the region [Israel]," he told hundreds of people at the al-Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus.
"That is the caliber of the battle. We will not be victorious unless the other side of the battle is Arab and Muslim."
Mashal, who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 1997 in Jordan, said Hamas would avenge the killing of the group's spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on March 22 and Gaza leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi on Saturday.
Mashal has suggested that Bush's unprecedented support for Israel encouraged Sharon to kill Rantisi. "What Bush told Sharon in the White House three days ago is the clearest green light and cover for Sharon's crimes and for what has happened to Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi," Mashal said. "Thus, it [the United States] is the one responsible for this crime."
30 Nissan, 5764 (April 21, 2004)
3. See Background History of Jordan, etc. for info on how King of Jordan believes his territory is "Greater Syria" which includes Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, etc. Whomever is ruling this area is a prime candidate for antichrist as this is the same area that Antiochus Epiphanes ruled when he sacrificed a pig on the altar in the Temple. Jordan still has jurisdiction over the Temple Mount (recently started repairing wall in complex).
Jordan Leader Delays Meeting With Bush
Apr 20, 5:15 AM (ET)
By JAMAL HALABY{PRIVATE}AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - The king of Jordan, one of America's closest allies in the Middle East, postponed a White House meeting with President Bush this week, questioning the U.S. commitment to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The snub from King Abdullah II comes amid Arab anger at Bush for endorsing an Israeli proposal to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank but keep Jewish settlements on other West Bank land claimed by the Palestinians.
Abdullah is under pressure at home to demonstrate his U.S. ties can further Arab positions on the Israeli-Palestinian question as well as on the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
The White House played down any hint of friction with Jordan, saying the Wednesday meeting with King Abdullah was rescheduled to the first week of May "because of developments in the region."
"The king decided this week it was better for him to be in Jordan and we understand that," National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said.
But Abdullah has been in the United States since last week and it was not clear Tuesday whether he had left. Officials at his palace in Amman declined to reveal the king's whereabouts, telling The Associated Press they did not know when he would return to Jordan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
A statement from the palace late Monday said Abdullah had instructed his foreign minister to remain in Washington to continue discussions with officials in the Bush administration and to prepare for the king's return to the United States in May.
The Abdullah-Bush meeting would not be held "until discussions and deliberations are concluded with officials in the American administration to clarify the American position on the peace process and the final situation in the Palestinian territories, especially in light of the latest statements by officials in the American administration," according to the palace statement.
Bush's statement after a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week constituted a historic shift in U.S. policy, and Palestinian leaders accused the administration of undercutting the possibility of a negotiated settlement.
Jordan is considered a key moderate ally of the United States and is one of only two of Israel's Arab neighbors to have a peace treaty with the Jewish state. But some Jordanian citizens question their government's relationship with the United States, which they accuse of siding with Israel against the Palestinians.
Jordan is especially concerned that a final peace settlement would be at its expense if refugees were dumped into the kingdom, exhausting its meager resources and disturbing its demographic balance. Roughly half of Jordan's 5.1 million population is composed of Palestinian families who fled or were forced out of their homes in 1948 and 1967 Mideast wars.
The rift between the Bush administration and its moderate Arab allies over Bush's statement on Israeli settlements is one of the worst to emerge in years - and has exacerbated the already tense relations between the United States and Arab countries over the war in Iraq.
Arab leaders have accused the administration of essentially taking away from the Palestinians their primary negotiating levers in any final peace deal - the disputes over whether Israel must remove all settlements from the West Bank, and whether Israel must allow back some Palestinian refugees.
Bush embraced Israeli rejection of any "right of return" for Palestinian refugees after his meeting with Sharon. Tensions also were inflamed in the Arab world by an Israeli helicopter strike that killed the Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
On Saturday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, also canceled a trip to Washington for meetings in the wake of the Bush announcement on settlements. Secretary of State Colin Powell had been expecting to meet with Shaath on Wednesday.
Last week, Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher said his government wants assurances that Washington is still committed to an Arab-Israeli settlement based on exchanging land-for-peace and creating a Palestinian state by next year in line with the U.S.-backed road map peace plan.
The palace statement said the king sent a letter to Bush on April 8 in which he stressed the Jordanian position regarding ways to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through implementing the internationally backed "road map."
In his letter, Abdullah said an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza must be part of the peace plan and not an alternative to it.
Despite the dramatic step of postponing a meeting with the president, the palace statement said, "Jordan sees that the contents of his majesty's letter to Bush comprises significant elements for the continuation of discussions between the American and Jordanian sides."
Relations between the two countries also were close under Abdullah's late father, King Hussein. The United States is Jordan's largest Western aid donor, with contributions estimated at $456 million this year. The United States gave Jordan $1.1 billion last year to offset the kingdom's losses because of the war on Iraq.
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4. 'Gladiators' Mark Rome's Anniversary
Sun Apr 18,10:39 PM ETROME - Hundreds of fans of ancient Rome dressed up as gladiators and marched by the ruins of the forums Sunday to mark the birthday of the city, which legend says was founded on April 21 2,757 years ago.
The actual anniversary is Wednesday, but the "gladiators," armed with spears and sporting helmets, turned out to stroll down Via dei Fori Imperiali, which is closed to traffic on Sundays.
The boulevard leads to the Colosseum, Rome's monument which hosted bloody gladiatorial combat to the thrill of the masses in the city's ancient days of glory.
The enthusiasts came from as far away as the United States, Hungary, France and Germany.
Legend has it that Rome was founded by twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, on April 21, 753 B.C.
"I'm retired military from the United States Air Force and this is my hobby," said Dan Hight, from Utah and dressed up as Vespasian, the emperor who began construction of the Colosseum during his rule from 69-79 A.D.
Others dressed up as Roman senators and legionaries. Leading the marchers was a young woman dressed a vestal virgin, a select group of young girls whose duties included tending the sacred fire.
NEXT:
Iyyar, 5764
Sivan, 5764
Most anniversaries of important events taken from "The Voice of the Lord: Messianic Jewish Daily Devotional" edited by David J. Rudolph.
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