Fed up, US warns: 'Deeply concerned about Israel's future' - http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Analysis-Fed-up-US-warns-deeply-concerned-about-Israels-future-380122
Officials in the Obama administration are attempting to quell commotion over whether relations with the government of Israel are now in crisis. The US says they are not.
But for the first time, in a determined, consistent fashion, administration officials are also allowing longstanding concerns over public rebukes, military tactics and policies on the ground- namely, settlement activity- to seep into the public.
The language they have employed this week is exceptionally heated, if measured.
White House and State Department officials said that Israel's decision to expedite the construction of 1,060 housing units in east Jerusalem was "incompatible" and "inconsistent" with the government's stated pursuit of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Continued settlement activity calls into question Israel's commitment to peace, officials said.
"There are times when we disagree with actions of the Israeli government and we must raise our concerns, such as our concerns about Israel's settlement policy," National Security Council spokesperson Alistair Baskey said by e-mail on Tuesday night. "We raise these concerns as a partner who is deeply concerned about Israel's future and wants to see Israel living side by side in peace and security with its neighbors."
Sharpened language from the Obama administration debuted not on Monday, but on October 1, when Obama hosted Netanyahu in the Oval Office. Just an hour after Netanyahu left the building, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki issued the new criticism, which Netanyahu's staff found humiliating.
Through the rest of his visit to Washington, Netanyahu found himself talking not about Iran and its nuclear program- his central priority- but about Jerusalem housing, construction timelines and his relationship with the White House, all on national American broadcast platforms.
Three weeks later, his defense minister, Moshe Ya'alon, arrived in Washington to even less fanfare: a small honor guard at the Pentagon, a hug from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and a public snub from the White House and State Department, which refused all requested meetings by Ya'alon with senior administration officials.
Asked what consequences might befall the Israeli government, or the US-Israel relationship more broadly, should construction proceed, Psaki only said on Monday that, "obviously, the international community is watching closely what they do."
The US administration can express strong disagreement with Israeli government decisions, Psaki said, that does not affect the fundamental US-Israel relationship.
Pointing to international concern might be an allusion to future action at the United Nations, which the US has historically opposed with the power of its veto in the UN Security Council.
The Palestinian Authority has threatened, in recent weeks, to replace the US with the UN as a broker in the peace process, publicly questioning Washington's effectiveness over decades of failed efforts.
But corresponding by e-mail on Tuesday night, one senior administration official suggested no change in its policy position at the UN.
"We're not going to get ahead of actions that have not yet been taken," the official said. "But our views remain firm. We strongly believe that the preferred course of action is for the parties to reach an agreement on final status issues directly."
US officials fear its clout in the process extends only as far as the Israeli government is willing to cooperate. Indeed, one senior official told The Jerusalem Post on October 2 that Jerusalem no longer bothers to give Washington advanced notice before issuing new settlement decisions.
And so the sharpening of rhetoric, now including an acknowledgment of mounting international pressure beyond the control of the United States, might in and of itself be seen as a consequence- a matter of strategic communication available to the administration where other tools are too permanent, too consequential, and perhaps viewed as disproportionate to the incremental settlement actions riling the world.
Consequences, too, greet the administration when it decides to take a harsher tone.
Only after the October 1 humiliation, and after Ya'alon's embarrassing treatment, did Netanyahu chose to proceed with 1,060 new units on Monday. Whether he would have moved forward in a better environment with Washington, or whether the environment has alternatively encouraged him, raises critical questions over just what type of leader Netanyahu truly is- and over the efficacy of Washington's public strategy in dealing with him.
Political blocs in Jerusalem and Washington alike squirm at foreign pressure, each from the other, prideful and provincial in their convictions; the consequences of US condemnation, in some Israeli circles, was inevitably going to be a double-down.
But these critiques from Washington are different. As the White House, for the first time, begins questioning Israel's fundamental commitment to peace, the effects of its public diplomacy might, too, grow out of its control.
Set in their ways and a six-year relationship, Obama and Netanyahu are not expected to change course- the relationship will not detox. Only new leadership, on one side or the other, can shake a spiral of rhetoric and its real political consequences.
Own It! The Impotence of Our Anger - Belle Ringer - http://www.salvationandsurvival.com/2014/10/the-impotence-of-their-anger.html
A recent CNN poll revealed that nearly 70% of Americans are angry at the direction our country is headed in. Now, the pundits of this world will tell you that it can all be solved next week, simply by pulling the correct lever at the upcoming elections; that the answer to all our problems is political.
But in order to solve problems, don't you have to be cognizant of them and correctly identify them? Psychologists and psychiatrists will tell you that "a leading cause of anger is a person's environment." So are we to deduce that SO many of us are SO angry because of problems that we see in our communities, our states and the national arena? In other words, is it the state of our external affairs that have us so riled up?
Let's say it was easy to identify exactly what those problems are; by setting about to solve them, does that resolve our anger? Will that make 70% of our population -- that's 221,270,000 Americans -- happier? Excuse me, while I snicker to myself. You see, I don't disagree that a large majority of us have reason to be angry at the obvious -- take a look at our collapsing economy, the state of our moral decline, our inability to define the enemy in our ongoing wars, the mis-education in our schools and colleges -- they are all viable causes for stress and fury.
And it's easy to point the finger of blame at any number of individuals or circumstances. Our government leaders, our entertainment industry, our political correctness, or our lax educational standards; they all fit the bill. But ultimately, none of these conditions would exist if we had not lost our way. If the cause of our anger is our "environment", just who is responsible for managing that which affects us so much?
Don't we eventually have to turn the microscope on ourselves? Doesn't the critical examination start with us? It is my humble belief that our external distress is a direct result of our internal disintegration. Let's face it ... as a people and a society, we have lost cohesion; we are no longer a united whole. And what happens when particles of the same substance start breaking down? The strength of the matter is weakened, and it falls apart. That is what is happening to America.
Whether we will admit it or not, our external affairs reflect our internal values, and our heart for God. History has shown us that when a nation adopts virtuous principles and guidelines, it prospers; peace envelops the land and its citizens flourish. (Think of how the Bible illustrates what happens to the nation of Israel when they follow God's precepts, versus the destruction and ruination that comes upon them when they are disobedient.) We once possessed the ingredients for a successful nation: we exalted God in our land, and tempered our lusts. But just like the ancient Israelites of the Bible, we have wandered from our roots, and are now paying the price of our rebelliousness. Our leaders have embraced Power-at-any-cost as a worthy goal. We have lost our reverence for sex as a private and beautiful experience between a man and woman. We have demeaned the cost of a human life, as we pursue obscure and undeclared wars around the globe. I can tell you that all this generates a significant degree of anger in me!
But I think what disturbs me the most is how we have robbed our children of the chance to prosper and flourish. They are on the verge of losing their birthright because we have relinquished our personal responsibility to guard what we were given (and what is right and virtuous and honorable), in exchange for a Nanny State and the freedom to tolerate absolutely any perversion or vice as "a right". We must OWN the cause of our own anger! I know that's painful to hear, but it's the truth! It's time for some righteous self-judgment ... our corrupt government, our greed and gluttony, our vulgar displays of sexual depravity, and our lack of sympathy and concern for others, is because we've LET these things happen.
Sure, it's nice to know that 70% of the country is not happy about where we are headed. Great! At least we stand a chance! But until we recognize the part we've played in getting there, we will continue to point fingers and never look into the mirror of our souls. What is it that will make us happy, and dissolve all this anger? I don't have all the answers, but I can tell you this ... it is not a change in political parties or anything that is manifested in this world. We've got to change what's inside us and get back on God's program. Until we turn to Him as the guiding Source of this nation, we will continue to break down and break apart. It's time to stop blaming others for our demise, and use our anger to set ourselves right again. Just think what we could accomplish if a fraction of 221 million "angry Americans" repented of our ways and turned to God! I'd like to see the results of that poll!!
Jeremiah 5:29 "Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?"
Why Barack Obama Uses the Term ISIL - by Jan Markell - www.olivetreeviews.org
In my conference message at the Fall 2014 "Understanding the Times", I looked at many Presidents of the United States and their blessing or cursing of Israel. I am a strong believer in the Genesis 12:3 blessing and cursing. God
does bless the nation, denomination, church, ministry, business, etc., that blesses Israel. He likewise curses those who hammer her or betray her.
The daily reports about the carnage of ISIS in the Middle East are disheartening. The terrorists actually call themselves the Islamic State or IS. The media calls them ISIS. Barack Obama calls them ISIL. What's behind this?
The "L" stands for The Levant. This is a geographic region that today includes Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, parts of Saudi Arabia, parts of Turkey, a part of Egypt and all of Israel. The Levant is a crossroads of Western Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, and northeast Africa.
Understand that ISIL, ISIS, or IS, has made it clear that Jerusalem is the final destination for the formation and declaration of global domination. The goal line is Israel; the goal posts are Jerusalem.
The Islamic State wants much greater domination by 2020 but the heart of the Caliphate is to be Jerusalem...God's holy city. The city to which Jesus will return some day. The heart of the Caliphate is the entire Levant but they are marching towards Israel.
So why does Barack Obama insist on calling the Islamic State ISIL? Some suggest he is sending a signal to the terrorists that he is okay with this idea. We don't know that for sure but when one looks at his overall policies against Israel, it makes sense.
We don't know if the Islamic State senses they have the U.S. President in their back pocket. It seems obvious. In his speech to the U.S. back on September 10, he said "ISIL is not Islamic." To defend blatant, ruthless terrorists indicates some sentiment for them and their cause. Of course they're Islamic. They call themselves Islamic.
Obama has come under fire for underestimating the threat of this "jayvee team" wreaking havoc across the Middle East and threatening the western way of life, and yet he continuously refers to them as ISIL. A "jayvee team" doesn't go after an entire region -- in fact, have ambitions of a global Caliphate. And he and his State Department know their ambitions are The Levant.
We have a weak, ineffective air campaign in that region. A lot of air strikes are at night which limit some terrorist casualties. Are some of our highest leaders on the wrong side of this battle? Or are some just forced into silence?
Israel knows what is going on and she is further reminded that her long-time ally has seemingly switched sides. She senses the betrayal. But this is playing into the predicted biblical scenario that must play out, since according to Zechariah 12, all nations will turn on Israel. If you look at things through the lens of Bible prophecy, you will lessen your despair as the world deteriorates. Admittedly, church pulpits won't help you do this.
Is it any wonder that America is more problem laden than at almost any other time in her short history? There are consequences for coming against God's covenant land which He declares as His in Leviticus 25.
"I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you, I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).
Take it seriously. Look at history. Have you ever seen a Hittite or a Jebusite? Civilizations who come against Israel are no more.
America is engaged in risky behavior. The behavior has consequences. They are in our daily headlines.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY PROPHECY WEBSITES...............................
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