01/02/2021 NEWS AM 200 Kids Sing A Cappella Style | You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13_nXuJ6dX8 "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." -- John Wesley (1703-1791) Church of England cleric, Christian theologian, a founder of the Methodist movement Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! That is the only hope of this nation! Plead for Grace and Mercy

Please That the world would - W A K E U P. remember Time for a worldwide repentance! these folks in ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world, Pray for those in our prayer- Check government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. often – they Pray for RP – Question of cancer undergoing workup -is doing well. Still confused as to source change Pray for LAC – recurrent cancer getting treatment Pray for Ella – emotionally disturbed abused child and brother with ? heart problem Pray for JN – Neuro disease Pray for MS – Job issues and change Pray for BB – Severe West Nile Fever – being discharged from Rehab – still not mobile Pray for RBH – cancer recurrence Pray for Felicia – post op problems – continuing Pray for SH and family – lady’s husband passed away and she is in Nursing home. Not doing well. Pray for MP – Very complex problems Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations?

Genesis 11:10These are births of Shem: Shem is a son of an hundred years, and begetteth Arphaxad two years after the deluge. 11And Shem liveth after his begetting Arphaxad five hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters. 12And Arphaxad hath lived five and thirty years, and begetteth Salah. 13And Arphaxad liveth after his begetting Salah four hundred and three years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

ETBPF has a new venue called Discord. It is a private web site where we are posting news and the daily news posting and you can respond with posts if you want. This ‘app’ can be used almost like facebook and twitter but without the intervention. We are just starting it and a bit slow to learn how to use it but it helps keep us off the Big Guys. It is a freebee and private. We have set levels of access to make sure only real responsible people are able to access. You can look at and join by going to: https://discord.gg/4576x47ezN

Palestinian critical after being shot at close range in face-off with IDF Army looking into incident, caught on video, during operation to confiscate construction equipment; TV report says soldier may have accidentally discharged weapon By Aaron Boxerman Today, 5:31 pm A Palestinian man was in critical condition Friday after being shot at close range by Israeli forces during an operation to confiscate illegal Palestinian construction equipment in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills. On Friday evening, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed Palestinian reports that 24-year-old Haroun Abu Aram, a resident of the unrecognized village of al-Rakeez, had been hit by live fire.

Palestinians scuffle with Israeli soldiers outside of al-Tuwani in the West Bank, on January 1, 2021 (screenshot)

Channel 12 News reported that an initial inquiry showed a soldier had accidentally discharged his weapon, hitting Abu Aram. In a video from the scene, Palestinians can be seen scuffling with Israeli soldiers in an attempt to take back a generator apparently confiscated by the troops. After the brawl escalates, a gunshot rings out off-camera. When the camera turns back towards the scene, Abu Aram is lying on the ground, apparently having been shot. A spokesperson for the Israeli army described the scuffle as “a violent incident in which violence was directed at Israeli forces by a number of Palestinians.” “The Israel Defense Forces acknowledges that a Palestinian was shot with live fire during the incident. The incident is being looked into,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson further asserted that the shooting was preceded by “massive stone- throwing” by a crowd of over 150 Palestinians against Israeli troops. While far from uncommon at West Bank Palestinian demonstrations, no stone-throwing could be seen in the video. Abu Aram did not appear to be armed and the video indicated no warning shots were fired before he was shot. He was initially taken to a hospital in the local town of Yatta, the B’Tselem rights group said, adding that the bullet had hit him in the neck. When his condition deteriorated, he was taken to a larger hospital in Hebron. ???? * #عاجل: شهود عيان: الشاب الذي أصيب قبل قليل هو هارون رسمي أبو عرام )24 عا ًما( وأطلق جنود االحتالل الرصاص على رأسه بشك ٍل مباشر من مسافة صفر عندما حاول منعهم من االستيالء على مولد كهربائي pic.twitter.com/XBjAhlY3Miيستخدمه هو وأسرته.* — Mahmoud Muhanna (@Mahmoud07733748) January 1, 2021 According to B’Tselem, the dispute over the generator took place during an operation by Israeli forces to prevent illegal Palestinian construction in the area by confiscating construction equipment. Israeli authorities do not recognize many Palestinian settlements in the South Hebron Hills region, and regularly demolish construction they say is illegal. Palestinians counter that Israel rarely issues permits for them to legally build in Area C. Around 200,000 Palestinians live in the zone, where the Oslo Accords grant Israel full civilian and security control — including over construction. But between 2016 and 2018, according to data released by the Civil Administration to the Bimkom rights group, only 1.4% of Palestinian requests for permits were granted. Abu Aram’s own house in the unrecognized village of al-Rakeez was demolished in November by Israeli authorities as part of a crackdown on illegal Palestinian construction, according to a report by B’Tselem. https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-in-critical-state-after-being-shot-at-close-range-in-spat-with-idf/

Iran tells IAEA it will move to enrich uranium to 20% purity, Russian envoy says At such level, uranium is a relatively short jump from weapons-grade material; signatories to nuclear deal have urged Tehran not to squander chance to salvage the 2015 accord By TOI staff and Agencies Today, 8:04 pm Iran has notified the International Atomic Energy Agency it will start enriching uranium to 20 percent purity, Russia’s Ambassador to the IAEA Mikhail Ulyanov said Friday. Iran has not enriched to such levels since it entered into the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which capped its enrichment at 3.67%. Tehran has recently broken that limit as the nuclear deal has disintegrated, reaching 4.5%. Uranium enriched to 20% is far below the 90% needed to construct nuclear bombs, but the jump from 20% to 90% is actually rather quick compared to the work needed to move from 4% to 20%. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018 and began imposing a host of sanctions against Tehran as part of a so-called maximum pressure campaign aimed at buckling Iran and convincing it to agree to a more favorable agreement, in Washington’s eyes. But Iran has not done so, instead choosing to enrich uranium to numbers far beyond what the deal allowed. The Islamic Republic’s stockpile of enriched uranium is more than 2.4 tons, 12 times the JCPOA limit, though still less than the more than eight tons Iran had enriched before signing the deal.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during an AFP interview in Vienna on November 30, 2020. (Alex Halada/AFP)

Iran has indicated some willingness to return to compliance with the agreement if the US, under incoming president Joe Biden, lifts the sanctions that were put in place after Trump’s withdrawal. Biden has vowed to re-enter the nuclear agreement if Iran first returns to compliance with it. He has also expressed a desire to negotiate a “longer and stronger” follow-up agreement that would extend the time-limited provisions on the JCPOA, while also addressing Iran’s missile program and curbing the influence of Tehran’s regional proxies. Iran has rejected any such negotiations. The remaining countries that signed the agreement with Iran — Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia — have been trying to keep it from collapsing after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States in 2018. In late December the countries agreed to “positively address” the possibility of a US return to the accord. Germany’s foreign minister urged Iran not to waste what he called a final window of opportunity. The three European powers have expressed hope that with the change of administrations in Washington, the US could be brought back into the deal, whose goal is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb — something Tehran insists it doesn’t want to do. “We are standing at a crossroads today,” Germany’s Maas told reporters in Berlin, adding that the deal’s survival or otherwise will be determined in the coming weeks and months. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that he “made it absolutely clear Iran must not implement the recently announced expansions to its nuclear program. To do so would undermine the opportunities for progress we hope to see in 2021.” The deal promises Iran economic incentives in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, but with the reinstatement of American sanctions, the other nations have been struggling to provide Iran the assistance it seeks. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that Iran would “rapidly reverse” its violations of the nuclear accord when the United States and the three European powers “perform their duties.” Despite Iran’s violations, the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that Tehran continues to give inspectors full access to its nuclear sites — a key reason the JCPOA member nations say it is worth preserving. Also in December, photos obtained by The Associated Press showed that Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo. Iran has not publicly acknowledged any new construction at Fordo, whose discovery by the West in 2009 came in an earlier round of brinkmanship before world powers struck the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. While the purpose of the building remains unclear, any work at Fordo will likely trigger new concern. Already, Iran is building at its Natanz nuclear facility after a mysterious explosion in July there that Tehran described as a sabotage attack. “Any changes at this site will be carefully watched as a sign of where Iran’s nuclear program is headed,” said Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who studies Iran.

This Nov. 4, 2020, satellite photo by Maxar Technologies shows Iran’s Fordo nuclear site (Maxar Technologies via AP)

The IAEA as of yet has not publicly disclosed if Iran informed it of any construction at Fordo. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran agreed to stop enriching uranium at Fordo and instead make it “a nuclear, physics and technology center.” “This location was a major sticking point in negotiations leading to the Iran nuclear deal,” Lewis said. “The US insisted Iran close it while Iran’s supreme leader said keeping it was a red line.” Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has resumed enrichment there. https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-tells-iaea-it-will-move-to- enrich-uranium-to-20-purity-russian-envoy-says/

Israelis allegedly smuggle drugs into Dubai for New Year's celebrations What started as an attempt to escape the lockdown in Israel and have some harmless fun may end very seriously for several Israelis. By TOBIAS SIEGAL JANUARY 1, 2021 19:08 Dozens of Israelis who have recently travelled to Dubai to celebrate the New Year allegedly smuggled hashish and marijuana into a country with very strict laws when it comes to drugs, N12 reported. As Israel entered its third general lockdown on Sunday, forcing many Israelis to cancel their plans for New Year's celebrations, others took the opportunity to travel to Dubai and catch two birds with one stone: enjoy the new destination recently made available for Israelis and celebrate the Near Year in one of the city's glamorous rooftop parties. Some 8,000 Israelis travelled to Dubai for their New Year celebrations, according to N12. But what started as an attempt to escape the lockdown in Israel and have some harmless fun may end very seriously for several Israelis who apparently decided to smuggle light drugs into the country. The young Israelis were reportedly unaware of the strict laws and very serious penalties that one may face if caught with drugs in the UAE. Being caught by law enforcement in the UAE with a small amount of drugs may lead to anywhere between 20 years in prison and a death sentence. One of the Israelis who smuggled light drugs into Dubai told N12 that he isn't worried about being caught. "All we did was to smuggle some hashish and marijuana for celebrating Sylvester and getting high. It isn't cocaine, it's light drugs. I don't believe that we'll get in trouble. A death sentence? for a few hundred grams in our suitcases? We only smoke in our hotel room," he said. Another Israeli told N12 that he only realized that he may spend a long time in jail if caught with drugs after landing. "Only when we arrived did we realize that we're taking a risk, so we decided to only smoke in our rooms. We won't walk around with hashish, we'll party in our room and finish everything that we brought with us," he said, adding: "We took a risk, but we came here to celebrate, and that's what we'll do." An Israeli residing in Dubai said that Dubai offered endless parties and venues for celebrating New Year's Eve. "There are insane VIP parties on hotel rooftops. And the demand by Israeli tourists is high. They want the most glamorous parties and don't listen to the guidelines," he told N12. "They think that they're at home and can do whatever they want to," he added, noting that most Israeli tourists in Dubai "don't wear masks, don't keep social distancing and risk receiving very high fines." Authorities in Dubai stressed in the past week that citizens and tourists who violate guidelines during the New Year's Eve celebrations will be heavily fined. According to the restrictions, gathering of more than 30 people are not allowed. "Hundreds of local police officers will raid all public venues and parties. Those who violate the restrictions will pay a heavy price," an Israeli residing in Dubai said, as a warning to Israeli tourists. "They don't differentiate between citizens and tourists. I advise Israelis not to do anything stupid. It's bad enough that we've made a bad name for ourselves lately and we should avoid reaching a point where we're unwelcome in this magnificent country," he added. In mid-December, it was reported that over 50,000 Israelis have already visited the UAE since the recent normalization deal between Israel and the UAE, and that more and more Israeli tourists continue to flood into Dubai, despite security warnings and reports of leaked sensitive information of Israeli tourists booking vacations in the Gulf state. As rental prices in Dubai are relatively cheaper than Tel Aviv, many young Israelis have even taken the opportunity to move their lives to Dubai and pursue careers in the tourism and food industries. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/israelis-allegedly-smuggle-drugs-into-dubai-for-new-years-celebrations-653997

Ex-justice minister says Gantz agreed to ‘insane’ Likud demands behind his back After quitting Blue and White, Nissenkorn claims party chief agreed to undermine democracy to save coalition; says he floated possible joint run with hard-right Yamina party By TOI staff Today, 5:14 pm Former justice minister Avi Nissenkorn heavily criticized his erstwhile ally Benny Gantz Friday, days after quitting the Blue and White party and his cabinet post, accusing him of managing talks behind his back with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would “severely harm the rule of law” and void the justice minister’s powers. In a Facebook post, Nissenkorn laid into Gantz’s recent conduct as the latter attempted to salvage the coalition with Netanyahu in recent weeks — an effort that ultimately failed, with the government collapsing and new elections being called for March. “Some two weeks ago I discovered that that behind my back negotiations were being held between Gantz and Netanyahu to void the authorities of the justice minister and severely harm the rule of law,” he wrote. The potential agreements between the parties “were no less than insane,” Nissenkorn said. “It would have politicized the selection process of the state attorney and attorney general and allowed Netanyahu’s emissaries a veto in appointing Supreme Court justices, a loophole that would have superseded the powers of the justice minister.” “The very negotiation over the safeguards [of democracy] undermines basic democratic principles, as well the values for which we were elected to serve the people of Israel,” he said. Gantz’s main appeal to voters throughout three election campaigns over the past two years had been his promise not to sit under Netanyahu in government. When he broke this vow last year, he said he was doing so in order to protect democratic institutions from within. “I opposed the move and along with several other colleagues in the faction we prevented the horrible deal,” he said. “I will not apologize for this. On the contrary — those who concocted the deal should be giving explanations to the public.” In a conversation days before his decision to quit the party, Nissenkorn said Gantz told him he was considering a joint run with hard-right Yamina in the next election. He said he informed the party leader that he “felt Blue and White was moving further and further away from my world view.” Nissenkorn said he still valued Gantz personally and appreciated their shared time together in politics, but that his conscience no longer allowed him to remain a part of the party. Nissenkorn has joined with Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai’s new party, The Israelis, and will run for the Knesset on that platform in the next election. Meanwhile, Gantz’s party is crashing in polls and only barely passing the electoral threshold in the next election, amid an exodus of the party’s top leadership including Gantz’s top ally, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. Gantz became acting justice minister after Nissenkorn’s resignation, in addition to his position as defense minister. On Friday he spoke with Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit as he entered the post, telling them: “As I have protected the judiciary and democracy so far, I will continue to guard it with all vigilance. I will make sure that your activities remain continuous. You will receive all the support needed to fulfill your role fearlessly and impartially.” Despite reported calls from within his party to step down, Gantz announced Tuesday night that he will continue to lead the ailing Blue and White in the upcoming elections in March, claiming the party “saved the country” and set the course for the end of Netanyahu’s rule. MORE -https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-justice-minister-says-gantz- agreed-to-insane-likud-demands-behind-his-back/

Israel zooms past 1 million vaccinations in sprint to vanquish pandemic Netanyahu announces milestone during visit to immunization center in Umm al-Fahm; country far outpaces rest of world, with more than 10% of population now having received 1st dose By TOI staff Today, 3:18 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) with the millionth Israeli to get a COVID-19 vaccine and medical staff in Umm al-Fahm, January 1, 2021. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Israel has vaccinated 1 million people against COVID-19, more than a tenth of its population, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, as the country’s inoculation drive cemented its status as the world’s most rapid thus far. Netanyahu was on hand to mark what he said was the millionth Israeli to receive a vaccine, in the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. Netanyahu called it a moment of “great excitement.” “We are breaking all of the records. We brought millions of vaccines to the State of Israel,” he said. We are ahead of the entire world… with our excellent HMOs.” Arabs make up around 20 percent of Israel’s population and have been relatively slow to embrace the vaccination campaign, prompting Netanyahu to launch a series of visits to Arab localities, his first in years, in what is also seen by many as an attempt to score political points ahead of the March elections. Netanyahu said that “it’s important for me that the Arab public in Israel will get vaccinated quickly” as “it’s saving lives.” He delivered the same message at a vaccination center in Tira, another Arab town, on Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits a vaccination center in Tira on December 31, 2020 (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

The Jewish state has so far greatly outpaced other countries, per capita, with 11.55% of the population inoculated, according to statistics from the Our World in Data website operated by Oxford University. Second place is held by Bahrain with 3.45%, followed by the UK with 1.39% (though the latter’s data is a few days old). The US stands at 0.84%. The world average is 0.13%. Israel is currently in its third nationwide lockdown to contain the outbreak. It has reported more than 426,000 cases and at least 3,338 deaths since the pandemic began. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said in a statement earlier Friday: “Yesterday we broke a new record and vaccinated 153,430 people. Today we’ll pass one million.” Israel started vaccinating on December 20, with a focus on healthcare workers and then on those over 60 and at-risk sectors. Its globe-leading vaccination drive has been attributed to various factors, including its relatively small but densely packed population and highly professional, community-integrated health services. Next week, a large-scale vaccination center is set to open in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, and aims to inoculate approximately 5,000 people per day, the city’s municipality said in a statement Thursday. A large tent and 20 vaccination booths will be operated by medical staff from Ichilov Hospital, starting with Tel Aviv residents over 60, and later to all Israeli citizens. Throughout the pandemic, Rabin Square was used as a COVID-19 testing site, conducting over 1,500 tests per day. The site is expected to continue operations alongside the vaccination center, even as it ramps up inoculations. The campaign currently uses the Pfizer vaccination, which requires two shots, spread a few weeks apart. Though not yet available to the general public, vaccination centers have also been opening their doors to all comers at the end of each day in an effort to make sure vaccine units available for immediate use do not go to waste. So far some 41% of over 60-year-olds have had their first shot, according to Health Ministry figures released Friday. However, a shortage of injections means the ministry might be forced to semi-freeze the campaign for two weeks in January. The pause would allow those who have received the first dose to get the second dose, but new first doses would not be given.

An IDF medic gets vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus at the medical center of Tzrifin military base in Rishon Lezion on December 28, 2020. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Channel 12 news reported Thursday that one million vaccines from the US biotech company Moderna will arrive in Israel next week, rather than in March as had previously been agreed, boosting dwindling supplies. However, the Health Ministry said it had no such information. “We would like to clarify that as of now, we don’t have information about Moderna’s intention to move up the delivery of millions of vaccines to Israel,” the ministry said in a statement. Later, the network cited sources in Moderna as insisting the shipment was ready and that its departure was only a matter of final approval. The report said Moderna officials were “surprised” at the ministry’s apparent denial. MORE - https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-reaches-1-million-mark-in-vaccinations-far-outpacing-rest-of-world/

240 Israelis found with COVID after vaccination, underscoring need for vigilance Pfizer’s shot only begins having an effect 8-10 days after first injection, and only reaches full potential after the second dose By TOI staff Today, 4:20 am Among the nearly one million Israelis vaccinated against coronavirus so far, some 240 Israelis have been diagnosed with the virus days after getting the shot, Channel 13 News reported Thursday. The figure underscores the need for individuals to continue to protect themselves for weeks after being inoculated, as the body takes time to develop effective antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. The Pfizer vaccine is not made with the coronavirus itself, meaning that there is no chance anyone could catch it from the shots. Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus and create antibodies to attack if it encounters the real thing. But this process takes time, and studies of the vaccine so far have shown immunity to the virus rises only some 8- 10 days after the first injection — and then only to around 50 percent effectiveness. This is why the second dose of the vaccine, given 21 days after the first, is critical: It strengthens the immune system’s response to the virus, bringing it to 95% effectiveness and ensuring that immunity lasts. This level of immunity is only reached about a week after the second dose — or 28 days after the first. Anyone who is infected a few days before getting the vaccine’s first dose or in the weeks before full effectiveness is reached is still in danger of developing symptoms. (Even when the vaccine reaches its top potential, there remains a 5% chance of this.)

A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine, at a vaccination center in Jerusalem, on December 30, 2020. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Another matter to note is that studies have not yet determined whether the vaccine allows a person to carry the disease and spread it, without getting sick: It is possible that while one’s body would be largely protected from the virus after vaccination, mucous layers in the nasal passages, beyond the reach of antibodies, could still harbor multiplying virus particles. While these would not harm the carrier — as any virus that enters deeper into the body would swiftly be destroyed by the trained immune system — they could still be expelled through the nose and mouth and infect others. The vast majority of Israelis who have received the vaccine have reported no issues since getting the shot. Around one in a thousand people have reported suffering mild side effects, with only a few dozen seeking medical attention following the shot, figures published Wednesday showed. The most common side effects reported were weakness, dizziness and fever, with 319 combined cases, the ministry said. Five also reported suffering diarrhea. Another 293 people reported localized symptoms where the injection was administered such as pain, restriction of movement, swelling and redness. Fourteen people said they had allergic reactions such as itching and swelling of the tongue and throat. Additionally, 26 people suffered what the ministry described as “neurological symptoms,” with 19 complaining of a tingly sensation in their arm. The ministry noted that only 51 people (0.008%) of those who reported suffering any side effects said they sought medical attention for their symptoms. According to the Kan public broadcaster, there have been four cases where people in Israel have died shortly after receiving the vaccination, but three of the four were deemed by the Health Ministry, as well as by both family members and doctors, to have been unrelated to the shots. The fourth case, an 88-year-old man who had serious preexisting health problems, is currently being investigated. https://www.timesofisrael.com/240-israelis-diagnosed-after- vaccination-underscore-need-for-continued-vigilance/

World hits grim record of 15,000 COVID deaths on final day of 2020 As global vaccination efforts ramp up, pandemic reaches new peaks, with over 1.8 million people dead and nearly 84 million cases reported By TOI staff and Agencies Today, 6:42 pm Global daily deaths from COVID-19 hit a new dire record as 2020 drew to a close, with over 15,000 people succumbing to the disease on Thursday, December 31, according to websites tracking the pandemic. Oxford University’s Our World in Data reported the figure to be at 15,525, while Worldometers gave the figure as 15,124. Daily fatalities had never before crossed the 15,000 mark. December saw several such records shattered, with deaths crossing 13,000 a day for the first time on December 15 and 14,000 on December 22. In total, over 1.8 million people have died of coronavirus around the world, while nearly 84 million cases have been reported. In the world’s worst-hit country, the US, the numbers kept climbing: On Wednesday more than 3,900 people died of COVID-19, a new record, bringing the toll since the pandemic began to more than 19.7 million infections and 341,000 lives lost.

Confetti flies after the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball drops in a nearly empty Times Square, early Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, as the area normally packed with revelers remained closed off due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

And experts believe the worst is yet to come, as US healthcare workers brace for a surge in cases after major holiday gatherings. But international efforts have helped develop vaccines in record time. On Wednesday Britain approved a lower-cost vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and drug firm AstraZeneca, making it the third jab to win approval in the Western world, after the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Britain, hard hit by a worrisome new strain of the virus and now divorced from the European Union due to Brexit, will “move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible,” tweeted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the one from AstraZeneca and Oxford does not need to be stored at very low temperatures. It can be kept, transported and handled in normal refrigerated conditions, making it easier and cheaper to administer, which is particularly important for less wealthy nations. Hours later, Argentina became the second nation to approve the vaccine, and was soon followed by El Salvador. Argentina and Mexico, which have agreements to distribute the vaccine in Latin America. https://www.timesofisrael.com/world-hits-record-15000-daily-covid-deaths-on-final-day-of-2020/

Meet Aryeh Lightstone, behind-the-scenes US-Israel facilitator From ordained New York rabbi, educator and entrepreneur to major player in international diplomacy. By YAAKOV KATZ JANUARY 1, 2021 13:43

ARYEH LIGHTSTONE (left) accompanies Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on a visit to the Western Wall in 2019. (photo credit: MATTY STERN/US EMBASSY JERUSALEM)

Ask Aryeh Lightstone for a business card and he could pull out one of many from his jacket pocket: he is senior adviser and chief of staff to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman; he is director of the Abraham Fund set up to increase business ties between Israel and the Gulf; and he also functions as something of a peace and economic envoy throughout the region. For Lightstone though, it’s just another day at work. Until the November 2016 election, Lightstone didn’t really have much to do with Donald Trump or his campaign. Originally from Denver, Lightstone was an ordained rabbi, educator, storyteller and entrepreneur from Long Island who had spent several years as head of the NCSY youth movement in the area. But as the Obama administration grew closer to Iran in 2014 and began promoting the JCPOA, Lightstone started getting actively involved in politics. He had become friendly with Friedman, who at the time lived nearby and was a successful bankruptcy lawyer. When the time came for Friedman to head to Washington for his confirmation hearings, Lightstone was asked to come along. Neither of the men knew much about the machinations of Washington, but Lightstone had some experience, and that was worth something. What Lightstone didn’t know at the time was that Friedman had asked Trump for permission to bring a senior adviser with him to Israel, a rare request for an ambassador. Trump agreed, and Friedman offered Lightstone the job, which became the “adventure of a lifetime.” Ahead of the end of the Trump presidency on January 20 and by extension Lightstone’s tenure, I sat with him this week for a lengthy interview. While his boss and mentor David Friedman is a household name in Israeli and American Jewish homes, the 40-year-old Lightstone is not, having spent the last four years behind the scenes and in the shadows, rarely speaking to the press. But Lightstone has been involved in every big event between Israel and the US, sitting in on almost all of the high-level dialogues between visiting dignitaries and their Israeli counterparts while working alongside his boss to advance the Trump administration’s interests. In May, for example, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew into Israel for a short visit, but Friedman didn’t feel well that day. Since no one was taking chances because of the coronavirus, Lightstone was asked by his boss to step in and serve as his replacement in all of Pompeo’s meetings, including with the prime minister. Lightstone admits that it wasn’t always like this. “The embassy never really had a political ambassador, and not a No. 2 either,” he said. “In the beginning the rule was to do no harm. Ambassador Friedman was described as a bankruptcy lawyer from Long Island, as if he was someone not experienced, and the last thing he needed was a rabbi from Long Island to make trouble.” This meant “playing a lot of defense” for Lightstone to avoid making mistakes. THE BIG change, he said, came on December 6, 2017, when Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “Ambassador Friedman went from an ambassador who delivers a strong message to an ambassador who delivers meaningful outcome,” Lightstone recalls. “And the stock of the guy whose office is next to him is dependent on his stock.” It was a period that the embassy in Israel went from “talking to doing,” and that gave Lightstone almost immediate credibility. “Around the embassy opening [in May 2018], Ambassador Friedman made a conscious effort to put me at every critical meeting with US leaders who were meeting with their Israeli counterparts,” he said. “This sent a message that I had his trust and the trust of the administration, and in doing so we were able to get more done.” With this newfound credibility, Lightstone was able to play an instrumental role in the big strategic moves that have taken place along the US-Israel axis: the moving of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, the withdrawal from the Iran deal, US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the roll out of the Trump peace plan, and the series of normalization and peace deals that have come about in recent months with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, and more on the way. With the backing of Jared Kushner and working alongside Trump’s special envoy Avi Berkowitz, Lightstone jumped into building the economic “meat” for the Abraham Accords, putting together the first commercial flights from Israel to the UAE and to Morocco, as well as the first direct flight to Sudan that was taken by Pompeo following a visit to Jerusalem. When Lightstone traveled throughout the region, he said, people understood that it was at Kushner’s behest, even if he didn’t have an official title. “With Jared Kushner’s blessing and Avi Berkowitz’s green light, you can accomplish anything in the region,” he explained, adding that “building that bridge is the difference” in comparison with previous Israeli peace deals. “The real results on the ground for the people is [already] there. What we did was create the environment and platform for it to happen.” Nevertheless, he said, there were reasons for one of the sides to take a step back every step of the way. “There was media against it, countries were against it, politicians were against it, but we decided to go all out,” said Lightstone. “My job was to put meat on the bone so people could see meaningful results, and that this will last.” According to Lightstone, everyone flying now between the new friendly countries needs to realize that the impression he or she makes on their visit will set the tone for how they will be viewed by their newfound partner. Everyone becomes an ambassador. “You carry the future of the Middle East, and the way it looks will be the impression that you make on people in, for example, the UAE and Israel,” he said. But does Lightstone feel that the Trump administration received credit in the US for how it produced the Abraham Accords? His answer was quick. No. “There is a major rush for judgment in the here and now,” he said, but “what happened needs to be viewed in historic proportions. Twenty years from now and 100 years from now, people will talk about the Abraham Accords that were led by President Trump that turned the Middle East from the source of problems in the world to the sources of solutions. There is no way history does not record that correctly.” Lightstone said that people should be able to rise above partisan politics to see the importance of policies even if they don’t agree with the politician, and be able to appreciate that what Trump did makes “America safer and more prosperous.” His advice to the incoming Biden administration is to remember that America being safe and prosperous is connected to the Middle East being safe and prosperous. “I would keep that going, and I would keep supporting our allies and isolating our adversaries,” he said. “Don’t make it more complicated than it is. Peace is good – and it is not Democrat or Republican.” MORE - https://www.jpost.com/opinion/meet-aryeh-lightstone-behind-the-scenes-us-israel-facilitator-653943

Battle for control in East Jerusalem The race for authority the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem after more Arab nations normalize relations with Israel is raising concerns in Jordan that it may be sidelined as Turkey is seen as attempting to step in and assert its role as representatives of Palestinian cause The Media Line | Published: 01.01.21 , 19:27 During a stroll inside Jerusalem’s Old City, or a drive around the Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, one cannot help but notice Turkish flags hanging outside shops and atop homes, as well as the affinity and warm welcome extended to Turkish tourists visiting the holy city. Another sign of the rising Turkish influence among Palestinians is the availability and abundance of Turkish goods in markets in East Jerusalem and throughout the Palestinian territories.

A Turkish flag is raised in a Palestinian demonstration out side the Al- Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (Photo: AFP)

The Turkish presence in East Jerusalem is highly visible. This not only worries Israel, but is also a source of concern for the so-called moderate Arab states, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to champion the Palestinian cause, adding to Ankara’s rising popularity among Palestinians. Turkey, Jordan and the Arab countries that have normalized relations with Israel in recent months are all working around each other in order to position themselves to strike a deal with Israel for control over Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites. The country that gains control of the holy sites upgrades its position in the Muslim world. The holy sites, most notably the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, currently are under the custodianship of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan through the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. This is enshrined in the peace treaty signed in 1994 between Israel and Jordan. [I mentioned in a note some days ago that there was an apparent issue rising between Abdullah in Jordan and Prince MBS in Saudi the was brewing concerning the control of the Mount. It apparently goes much further than that. – rdb] In the last few years, a large number of Turkish visitors to East Jerusalem have come with the main goal of praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) operates in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, pumping millions of dollars into aid, relief and charity projects. The agency said in a statement that the main focus of its projects is humanitarian and restoring Islamic sites. Ahmed al-Burai, an Istanbul-based Middle East analyst and lecturer at Istanbul Aydin University, says that it is important for Turkey to have a presence in Jerusalem. “In principle, Turkey considers the Palestinian cause one of its main missions in the Middle East, and especially after the arrival of the current ruling AK Party [Justice and Development party] and President Erdogan, the Palestinian cause is at the forefront of its main priorities,” Burai says. He says that no one should doubt the intentions of Turkish activities in the city, which are meant to preserve Jerusalem’s Islamic identity and to help the city’s Palestinian residents. Observers say that Turkey has historical claims to guardianship of the holy sites, and that Erdogan has ulterior motives, such as dreams of reviving the Ottoman Caliphate. “For Turkey it’s a comprehensive issue, particularly Jerusalem is very essential as one of the sacred sites for Muslims, and because of the Caliphate and the legacy of the Ottoman Empire,” Burai says. “Turkey has a commitment toward Jerusalem. That’s why they are sending groups there, whether in terms of education, endowments to support the people of Jerusalem and to preserve the heritage of the Ottoman Empire, and to keep their presence there and to not give a chance to the occupation to erase the Muslim legacy in the city,” he says, highlighting his concern about the Judaization of sites in Jerusalem. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, a researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University, says that Turkey sees itself as the successor state of the Ottoman Empire. “The leadership in Ankara attributes great importance to all territories where Ottomans once ruled. However, given the religious importance of Jerusalem and its significance for political Islam, this presence is becoming even more meaningful when compared to other regions,” he says.

Turks celebrate the decision to transform the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque (Photo: AFP)

Yanarocak adds that the recent rapprochement between Israel and some Arab governments has diminished Ankara’s role. “Recently Turkey’s above-mentioned monopoly of having the only normal relationship with Israel faded away with the Abraham Accords. Especially the opening of the Saudi airspace to Israeli and foreign planes flying to Israel,” he says. Jordan has for some time been suspicious of Turkey’s activities in East Jerusalem, and specifically those around the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa Mosque, arguing that it threatens the Hashemite guardianship of Muslim holy sites in the city. Twenty-six years after the signing of their landmark peace treaty, Jordan’s relations with Israel remain rocky. The Wadi Araba Treaty, which was signed on Oct. 26, 1994, formally ended decades of war between the two neighbors. Jordanian academic Dr. Labib Kamhawi says that Jordan’s role in the city is at risk of being changed. Kamhawi says that the Hashemite guardianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian sites derives its existence from the Wadi Araba agreement between Jordan and Israel. “This agreement indicated in one of its clauses that Israel emphasizes the role of Hashemi in the custody of the holy sites. This means that the basis for the legitimacy of this speech is based on Israel and not from Islam, or that it is a religious guardianship based on religious factors,” he says. This is the danger, says Kamhawi, which is what worries Jordan and its monarchy regarding the Israeli-Saudi rapprochement, and the normalization agreements between Israel and the UAE, and Israel and Morocco. “Israel agreed that guardianship of the holy places be a right for Jordan, which it can withdraw from the kingdom according to its interests. It all depends on political interests,” says Kamhawi. MORE - https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/ryrIm8saD

Rouhani Declares Trump Will Be Dead 'in a Few Days' as Iran-US Relations Keep Crumbling By Brian TrusdellFriday, 01 Jan 2021 5:12 PM Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared that President Donald Trump will be dead ''in a few days'' during a speech to his Islamic nation’s cabinet as the first anniversary of the killing of a general in the country’s military approached. Rouhani’s Wednesday speech, excerpts of which were posted in English on the Iranian presidential website, called Qasem Soleimani a ''martyr'' and ''moderate leader with tact.'' Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Quds Force — described by military specialists as an unconventional war and clandestine operations unit — was killed in a targeted drone strike on Jan. 3, 2020, that was approved by Trump. The U.S. Department of Defense blamed Soleimani for hundreds of deaths and injuries to Americans; he was purportedly killed while in neighboring Iraq while ''actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.'' Besides Trump, Rouhani referred to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as the ''main perpetrators of this crime.'' "One of the effects of this stupid and disgraceful act was that Trumpism ended and in a few days, the life of this criminal will end and he will go to the dustbin of history, and we are very happy about this and we believe that the period after Trump will be a better condition for regional and global stability," Rouhani said. The remarks come as tensions have intensified approaching the anniversary of Soleimani’s death; his successor has vowed vengeance, and the U.S. has flown B-52s over the region in an act of deterrence. Among other signs of escalation: • Iran has told the United Nations nuclear watchdog it plans to enrich uranium to 20% purity, a level it achieved before a 2015 nuclear accord, at its Fordow site buried inside a mountain, the agency said on Friday. The move is the latest of several recent announcements Iran has delivered to the International Atomic Energy Agency pointing to plans to breach the deal, which it started violating in 2019 in retaliation for the Trump administration's withdrawal from the agreement and reimposition of sanctions. • Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday accused Trump of attempting to fabricate a pretext to attack Iran, and said Tehran would defend itself forcefully. The bomber flights appeared to have been a trigger for his tough remarks. • The Pentagon announced on Thursday that the Nimitz aircraft carrier, which was off the coast of Somalia, would be heading back to its home port. It has previously operated in the Middle East. The move was seen by some U.S. officials as an attempt to reduce tensions in the region. • Washington has also been blaming Iran-backed militia for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility. Meanwhile, Iran is continuing preparations for events marking the anniversary of Soleimani's killing this Sunday. https://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/1003940/1 [Things are just getting interestinger and interestinger as each day goes by. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would see the world in this state. – rdb]

Israel said bracing for possible strikes by Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Yemen IDF holds discussions about possibility of missile and drone attacks from Houthis and Iraqi groups, report says By TOI staff and Agencies Today, 2:04 am The Israeli military is preparing for the possibility of a strike by Iran-backed militias in Iraq or Yemen, according to a Friday report. The Israeli Defense Forces held discussions last week about possible attacks, including missile and drone strikes, from the Iraqi militias and Houthi groups in Yemen, the Kan public broadcaster reported. Tensions in the Middle East have heated in recent weeks as Israel and the US have traded threats with Iran ahead of the 1-year anniversary of the US airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Iran has also threatened to attack Israel since the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in late November, in a raid blamed on the Jewish state. Further ratcheting up tensions, the UN nuclear watchdog said Friday that Iran intends to produce uranium enriched up to 20 percent purity, well beyond the threshold set by the 2015 Vienna accord and a short jump from weapons- grade material. The Friday report from Kan echoed comments made last week by IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman, who told a Saudi news outlet that Israel was not aware of any specific plans by Iran to attack the Jewish state, but that Iranian forces could carry out an attack from Iraq or Yemen. He said Israel had information indicating Iran was developing unmanned aerial vehicles and “smart missiles” in Iraq and Yemen, and that the weapons could have the ability to strike Israel. MORE - https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-said-preparing-for-possible-strikes-by-iran-backed-militias-in-iraq-yemen/ [Is this the beginning of Gog/Magog? Watch and see but be sure you have your spiritual house in order. – rdb]

Many front-line workers refuse Covid vaccines as distribution rollout struggles About 50 percent of workers in California’s Riverside County have refused to take the vaccine, along with 60 percent of nursing home staff in Ohio. Dec. 31, 2020, 2:15 PM CST By Doha Madani A large percentage of front-line workers in hospitals and nursing homes have refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine, a hurdle for public health officials as the country struggles to roll out inoculations around the country. About 50 percent of front-line workers in California’s Riverside County have refused to take the vaccine, Riverside Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari told The Los Angeles Times on Thursday. California is currently overwhelmed with cases as hospital staff in Southern California face a shortage of intensive-care units and have created makeshift units. Vaccine development and distribution has been the target of persistent conspiracy theories and disinformation on social media, although it's unclear how much impact this anti-vaccination movement has had on overall public trust in the process. About 2 in 10 Americans are certain they will not change their mind about refusing the vaccine, according to data from the Pew Research Center. And 62 percent said they would be uncomfortable being among the first to receive the vaccine. Anecdotally, an estimated 60 percent of Ohio nursing home employees have refused the vaccine already, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during a news briefing Wednesday. It's a stark contrast to the number of nursing home residents who have taken the vaccine when offered, which DeWine guessed to be about 85 percent. MORE - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/many-frontline-workers-refuse-covid-19-vaccines-distribution-rollout-struggles-n1252617

Coming soon! U.S. intelligence report on 'unidentified aerial phenomena' Requirement tucked into comments section of government funding bill By Bob Unruh Published January 1, 2021 at 7:40pm Soon they'll be in a coming report from America's intelligence agencies to members of Congress, specifically the intelligence and armed services committees. It's because of a requirement tucked into the recently signed government funding bill that calls for a report from the Director of National Intelligence, "in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of such other agencies" to Congress within 180 days of the enactment of the law to address "unidentified aerial phenomena." In the report will be, as required by the law, information on "observed airborne objects that have not been identified" as well as a "detailed analysis of unidentified phenomena data collected by: a. geospatial intelligence; b. signals intelligence; c. human intelligence; and d. measurement and signals intelligence." The New York Post noted the mandate got very little attention because instead of being in the text of the bill, it was included in a "committee comment" from the Senate Intelligence Committee. The report said spokesperson Sue Gough of the Defense Department said officials are aware of the requirement. Investigative reporter Sara Carter explained other requirements include information now held by the Office of Naval Intelligence including its Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, details from the FBI, how agencies have worked together on such cases, identification of every "potential aerospace or other threats," and recommendations for future data collection and research. Carter discussed the report requirement on her program: It was only months ago that the Pentagon released three Navy videos showing unidentified objects viewed by the service's pilots. Chris Mellon, a former staff director for the Senate Intelligence Commission, said assuming the executive branch honors the mandate, "the nation will at long last have an objective basis for assessing the validity of the issue and its national security implications. This is an extraordinary and long overdue opportunity." https://www.wnd.com/2021/01/coming-soon-u-s-intelligence-report-unidentified-aerial-phenomena/ [Interesting that issues that many thought were totally off the wall 10 years ago have now become mainstream. – rdb]

There's a Slight Twist Regarding the Death of GOP Congressman Who Contracted COVID Matt Vespa Posted: Dec 31, 2020 12:45 PM Congressman-elect Luke Letlow (R-LA) passed away this week at the age of 41. It’s terrible. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. Mr. Letlow contracted COVID on December 18 and died on December 29. He had no underlying conditions. It took less than 24 hours for the liberal media to jump all over his grave. It’s been an appalling couple of days. A Vox reporter was forced to backtrack a bit from his initial tweet about Letlow’s passing, only to make the situation worse. Remember, the Left wants to see you dead. We shouldn’t be shocked by these reactions from progressives. It reveals the disturbed and horrid nature of American liberalism and how they wish death upon those with whom they share disagreements. Yet, it would appear that Letlow tragically passed away after suffering a heart attack during surgery (via NY Post): Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died while battling COVID-19, suffered a heart attack following a procedure, a hospital official said. The 41-year-old was receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport when he died Tuesday, the Monroe News-Star reported. LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor G.E. Ghali confirmed Letlow underwent an operation related to the virus and later went into cardiac arrest. [This makes me think that somewhere there very well may have been a major medical screw-up. - rdb It’s irrelevant to speculate what kind of operation he was having since any surgery carries the risk of death. The point is that the story changed. The virus did not kill him per se—which is why if liberals were human beings and sent condolences, they wouldn’t be suffering whiplash from having their death wish narrative blow up in their faces. I can’t tell you how many people were saying, more or less, that Letlow either deserved to get sick (and die) because he didn’t wear a mask or something. Masks aren’t full-proof—and they don’t appear to be curbing the spread. Second, he wasn’t a COVID denier either. He merely warned in October that if we don’t get businesses reopened safely, the lockdowns could hurt the economy and American families more than this virus ever could. He was right. This twist will probably be lost on the Left. There is nuance. Yes, Rep-Elect Letlow was fighting COVID, but it was a heart attack from an operation that killed him. There is a difference between dying with COVID and dying from COVID. You all know this, and we’re seeing some cases where people who were shot and killed are being listed as COVID deaths after discovering the victims had tested positive. This was a tragic story to break over the holidays only made worse by the Left's reactions to it, which liberal reporter Michael Tracey aptly described was fueled by liberal America's desire for political vengeance. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/12/31/theres-a-slight-twist-regarding-the-death-of-gop-congressman-who-contracted-covi- n2582365

What is Civilization Jihad? https://player.vimeo.com/video/174076001

As Pence Moves to Dismiss Election Lawsuit, The Number of House GOP Reps Objecting to 2020 Results Skyrockets Matt Vespa Posted: Dec 31, 2020 6:15 PM Cortney wrote about the lawsuit Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) filed this week against Vice President Mike Pence over the 2020 election. It basically would have granted the vice president the power to pick the electors by overturning the 1877 Electoral Count Act. There was a lot of funny business during the 2020 election. The legal front on this battle is over, however. It’s now up to what happens on the Hill on January 6. As we speak, Mike Pence has moved to dismiss Gohmert’s lawsuit, saying he’s not the proper defendant in the proceedings (via the Hill): Vice President Pence on Thursday asked a federal judge to reject a bid by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and other Republicans to broaden Pence’s powers in a manner that would effectively allow him to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral win. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week, seeks to expand Pence’s role in an upcoming Jan. 6 meeting of Congress to count states’ electoral votes and finalize Biden’s victory over President Trump. But in a Thursday brief to Texas-based U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee, Pence said he was not a proper defendant to the suit. 140 members of the House, and counting, will object to the electoral college certification on January 6. 2021 is going to start with a boom ?? — George Papadopoulos (@GeorgePapa19) December 31, 2020 Also, there appear to be some 140 Republican House members ready to object to the 2020 Electoral College results. It’s gathering steam. For the Never Trump wing of the GOP, either accept the new path of just become Democrats. Many of you had done so already. It’s Trump’s party now. The right- wing populist wing has taken over, and they’re not done fighting. The mountains of allegations of voter fraud have not convinced the GOP or its base that this was a free and fair election. That’s not going away and you bet the Republican Party should make congressional investigations a 2022 midterm promise should they retake the House. I think we should just accept the fact that the next four years will be dominated by those who felt cheated on Election Day. Tens of millions of GOP voters feel the same way. And please, let’s not act like this is unprecedented. There were objections to George W. Bush’s 2004 win in the Senate. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/12/31/as-pence- moves-to-dismiss-election-lawsuit-the-number-of-house-gop-reps-objectin-n2582418 [The real fireworks of 2021 begin on Jan 6. – rdb]

GOP doubles number of poll watchers for coming Georgia runoff Loeffler, Perdue working to keep seats By WND News Services Published January 1, 2021 at 5:46pm By Jake DimaDaily Caller News Foundation Georgia Republicans say they have doubled the number of poll watch volunteers to supervise the contentious Senate runoff elections which will be tallied next week. A total of 8,000 people volunteered to join a “historic effort” to ensure election integrity ahead of Jan. 5, Fox News reported, citing GOP officials. The number of recruits increased two-fold from the 4,000 volunteers who have been supervising early voting in the state for the past few weeks, according to Fox. “Georgians deserve total confidence in the fairness and accuracy of our state’s elections, and we’re thankful to the thousands of volunteers who will ensure that these runoffs are safe, secure, and that every legal vote is counted,” Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue said in a joint statement, according to Fox. “Georgia Republicans have already mobilized the most robust ground game and poll watching operation in the state’s history and are fully prepared to make certain that the integrity of next week’s elections will not be cast under a shadow of doubt.” President Donald Trump has alleged — without evidence — that widespread voter fraud occurred in Georgia and several other battleground states during the 2020 presidential election. Trump lambasted Georgia leaders including Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for refusing to “find the crime” and being “stupid” in a Tuesday tweet. “I love the Great State of Georgia, but the people who run it, from the Governor, @BrianKempGA, to the Secretary of State, are a complete disaster and don’t have a clue, or worse,” Trump wrote. “Nobody can be this stupid. Just allow us to find the crime, and turn the state Republican.” “The consent decree signed by the “Secretary”, with the consent of Kemp, is perhaps even more poorly negotiated than the deal that John Kerry made with Iran. Now it turns out that Brad R’s brother works for China, and they definitely don’t want ‘Trump’. So disgusting!” https://www.wnd.com/2021/01/gop-doubles-number-poll-watchers-coming-georgia- runoff/

Commentaries: Globalists Unveil Their Latest Scheme By Cliff Kincaid|January 1st, 2021 With their own peculiar brand of a New Year’s resolution, the globalists are out with their latest plan – a Global Alliance to Defend Democracies. The feel-good ploy has two purposes –to divert attention from our own failing “democracy,” and to assemble a group of nations supposedly to contain Red China. It could attract the support of people who think there may be something salvageable in a potential Biden presidency. But if Biden takes power, America’s “democracy” will lie in tatters. We will be a laughing stock around the world. The proposal, once advocated by such personalities as John McCain, has now surfaced in the writings of Richard Kemp, a former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, under the sponsorship of the Gatestone Institute, a group associated with fired Trump adviser John Bolton. Kemp reports, “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to use the G7 summit that Britain is hosting in 2021 to launch the ‘D10,’ intended as an alliance of democracies to counter China.His proposal is for the G7 group of leading industrialized nations to be joined by Australia, South Korea and India. The focus would be on developing 5G telecommunications technology to reduce dependence on Huawei and the Chinese Communist Party as well as reliance on essential medical supplies from China.” The G7 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Referring to China Joe, Kemp adds, “President-elect Joe Biden put forward a somewhat similar initiative in 2019 and it is widely believed that he plans to convene a ‘Summit for Democracies’ in 2021. It appears his intention is broader than Mr. Johnson’s both in scope and participation, and that it includes promoting liberal democratic values across the world.” China Joe will be promoting “liberal values” when his political party has seized power through electoral fraud and communist violence in the streets? Coincidentally, the Streit Council has been fundraising for its own long-standing plan to create a “Union of Democracies” and declares, “As 2020 comes to an end, we are reminded more than ever of the importance of our mission as originally envisioned in Clarence Streit’s 1939 bestseller, Union Now. In an irrevocably interdependent world, personal and collective challenges are interrelated.” Union Now is another world government scheme that includes a proposal for a global constitution. Some of these ideas can be traced to a “Congress of Prague” that was held back in 1996 and whose goal, in the words of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was “the defense, entrenchment and extension of our Western inheritance of freedom.” Alist of the “International Advisory Board” members at the time included such people as William Kristol, the former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Mitch McConnell, the current Republican Senate Majority Leader. Thatcher, who gave away Hong Kong to the Red Chinese, was identified as a patron of the Congress, along with Henry A. Kissinger. In her memoirs, Thatcher had predicted economic change on the Chinese mainland would lead to political reform. She said, “The Chinese belief that the benefits of a liberal economic system can be had without a liberal political system seems to me false in the long term.” In fact, China’s dictatorship is more entrenched than ever before and is running roughshod over the freedom of its own people and residents of Hong Kong. Globally, China has devastated Western economies (but not its own) with the China virus. The publication Axios reports that China’s economy is expected to grow by 8.4% in 2021.“China managed to become a post-COVID economy within months of the virus striking,” it says. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to sputter along, with many states in lockdown and going deeper into debt and financial turmoil. Axios says China’s success stems from its communist dictatorship using a “centralized epidemic response system” very strict lockdowns, as “only one member of each household permitted to leave home every couple of days for necessary supplies,” together with “an effective and efficient nationwide contact-tracing program.” In other words, communism works. “How China Won 2020” is the title of the Axios article that celebrates the death and destruction inflicted by Chinese communism on the rest of the world. Both Thatcher, a noted “conservative,” and Kissinger, an adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations, were terribly wrong on China. The CIA also got it wrong. Today, their adherents propose an “alliance” or “union” of democracies to counter China when China has effective control of Joe Biden and his family, in a country, the USA, that is supposedly the leader of the “Free World”but which has been characterized by rampant election fraud designed to take Donald J. Trump out of the presidency. China Joe’s “Summit of Democracies” has a cheerleader in Jonas Parello-Plesner, executive director of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation in Copenhagen, Denmark. Corporate supporters include Google, Microsoft, the Atlantic Council, the National Democratic Institute, and the International Republican Institute. (The latter receives funding through grants from the U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, a number of European foundations and aid agencies and other Western countries, and the United Nations.) Curiously, this outfit has an associated entity, the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity, that accepts the Biden presidency. (John Kerry is a member). An alternative to these various “democracy” gimmicks, often cloaked in language about the dangers of Russian election meddling, is an international communist crimes tribunal targeting China and Russia. It could also expose communists operating on American soil. Professor Renato Cristin has made the case for such a tribunal in various publications. This proposal was initiated by the Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky before his untimely death. He told me in an interview that the problem in fighting communism has been Western complicity with the communist regimes. China Joe, implicated by the Hunter Biden laptop in payments to his family from China, is an example of that. So is member of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was publicly sniffing out Russian agents while allegedly sleeping with a suspected Chinese spy. Yet, Axios reports, Swalwell “is not accused of wrongdoing…” “I was shocked,” he said. “Just over six years ago, I was told about this individual and then I offered to help, and I did help and I was thanked by the FBI for my help and that person is no longer in the country.” All of this happens right before our eyes and is excused or rationalized by the intelligence agencies and the media. The November 3 presidential election, also stolen in front of our eyes, is further evidence of this corruption. But the worst may be yet to come, especially if Mitch McConnell and other Republicans fail to protest the steal on January 6 and usher China Joe Biden into the U.S presidency. Based on what Col. Kemp says, a new “democracy alliance” will be unveiled, supposedly to counter China. It may even be led by Rep. Swalwell. It will be a mask for further integration into a New World Order dominated by China. Consider that Europe has just revealed a new investment agreement with China. Expect China Joe to follow suit, accepting crumbs from the Chinese as Americans literally survive on crumbs. https://newswithviews.com/globalists-unveil-their-latest-scheme/

And then… January 6: The Righteous Republican Challenge Larry O'Connor Posted: Dec 31, 2020 3:15 P The Constitution still stands for something. On January 6, Republicans in Congress have a chance to prove it. A challenge to the electoral ballots from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia is not just crucial for the protection of 75 million voters who are rightly feeling hopelessly disenfranchised, but it is also a constitutional obligation if anyone is to take our founding documents seriously from this point forward. The constitution is unambiguous about the method to elect the American president. The members of the electoral college are to be assigned by each state's legislature. That's it. There's no other way to interpret the words of Article II. Yet, in each of the above-referenced states, governors and secretaries of state supplanted election law as laid out by those legislatures and implemented their own arbitrary guidelines for collecting, validating, and counting presidential ballots. It's not even debatable. It's now up to Congress to stand by its oath to protect and defend the constitution and force a thorough examination of what happened. Whether there are enough votes to overturn the electoral college or not is irrelevant. Whether there are enough invalid ballots in those states to overturn the certified results of the November 3 election or not is irrelevant. Whether a congressional challenge angers the mainstream media (who are inclined to hate conservatives and Republicans who don't sycophantically bow and scrape for their disdained approval) or not is irrelevant. The only thing that is relevant is the constitution. And make no mistake, in the 2020 presidential election, the constitution was ignored, bypassed, and violated in those critical states. Mark Levin has laid out the case in a brilliant article at The Blaze. I encourage you to read it, but I will summarize here: Pennsylvania: In Pennsylvania, considered the battleground of the battleground states, the Democratic governor, attorney general, and secretary of state made and enforced multiple changes to the state's voting procedures, all of which were intended to assist the Democrats and Biden. Georgia: On March 6, 2020, in Democratic Party of Georgia v. Raffensperger, Georgia's Secretary of State entered a Compromise Settlement Agreement and Release with the Democratic Party of Georgia to materially change the statutory requirements for reviewing signatures on absentee ballot envelopes to confirm the voter's identity by making it far more difficult to challenge defective signatures beyond the 22 express mandatory procedures set forth at GA. CODE § 21-2-386(a)(1)(B). 71. Wisconsin: In Wisconsin, the Elections Commission and local Democratic officials in the state's largest cities, including Milwaukee and Madison, changed the state's election laws. Michigan: In Michigan, among other things, the Democratic secretary of state unilaterally changed the state's election laws with respect to absentee ballot applications and signature verification. Indeed, she sent unsolicited absentee ballot applications by mail prior to the primary and general elections. In each of these states, Democratic governors and/or secretaries of state bypassed state law and implemented lax guidelines that dictated the distribution, collection, validation, or counting of mail-in ballots. In some cases, they bastardized the law pertaining to all four levels of mail-in ballot provisions. In the states in question this election, Democrats only succeeded in implementing these phony mail-in voting guidelines under the fake guise of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exception being Georgia, where the aforementioned March 6 settlement agreement was illegally entered into by the weak secretary of state in response to the "Stacey Abrams is the real governor" lie pushed by Democrats and the media for the past several years. It's no coincidence that this happened. It's what Democrats have been trying to accomplish for years. They've tried to proliferate liberal and unchecked laws with regard to mail-in ballots, with the end goal being wide- spread vote-by-mail laws across the nation. This despite the fact that Jimmy Carter warned of the outright fraud promulgated by a slipshod mail-in voting scheme in his 2005 Federal Election Reform Commission. Since Carter's commission spelled out how widespread fraud could occur with proliferating mail-in voting, Democrats have reverse engineered the findings and attempted to implement everything the commission warned against. Democrats took Carter's report not as a warning, but rather as a roadmap. They've not been able to accomplish this goal over the years because cooler heads (usually on the shoulders of Republicans in the state legislatures) have prevailed. This year, they pushed these provisions through, and it was those non-statutory dictates that allowed Joe Biden's "vote" count to spike in these states all at the same time in the dark of night. Republicans in Congress must take the opportunity of the January 6 examination of the electoral college vote to challenge these states and the process they used to determine their electors. There is no doubt the state legislatures were usurped, and there's no doubt that the usurpation resulted in hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots that normally would not have been counted. The only doubt is whether Republicans truly believe their rhetoric about respect for the constitution or if it's just been one big sham. January 6 is when the question must be raised and the case made to the American people. The case the mainstream media refuses to allow you to know exists, let alone hear in full. The spotlight will be on our constitution and the integrity of the American voting system this January 6. If everything was above board and legitimate, then why wouldn't Biden and his party welcome scrutiny? And if the system were unconstitutionally corrupted, why wouldn't Republicans fight for their party and their president? https://townhall.com/columnists/larryoconnor/2020/12/31/january-6-the-righteous-republican-challenge-n2582402

And then… A Year Of Lies: The Top Seven Myths Of 2020 Scott Morefield Posted: Jan 01, 2021 12:01 AM As we bid a grateful adieu to one of the absolute worst years in modern history, trying to encapsulate 2020 in just one phrase may be difficult considering ALL the things that went tragically wrong. Was it the year of COVID-19, when basic civil liberties were sacrificed at the altar of potentially saving “just one life” from a virus with a 99.87% survival rate? Was it the year Black Lives Matter used a blatant lie to defund the police and take over America’s streets? Or maybe it was the year a presidential election was stolen right from under our noses. Sadly, if you’re a freedom-loving, right-of-center conservative, 2020 was a year of all those things and more. But to sum it up in one phrase, 2020 was a ‘year of lies,’ of lies upon lies upon lies. That’s right, the only way we could tell if our overlords were lying to us in 2020 was if their mouths were moving. And it wasn’t about just one thing, it was about almost everything, from COVID-19 to systemic police racism to a fair and clean election to almost every narrative the mainstream media tried to spin. Below, in no particular order, are my top seven myths of 2020. MORE - https://townhall.com/columnists/scottmorefield/2021/01/01/a-year-of-lies-the-top-seven-myths-of- 2020-n2582424

What explains Turkey’s sudden charm offensive on Israel? 01/01/2021 Caroline Glick After a decade of unadulterated hostility, over the past few weeks Turkey’s Islamist president Recep Erdogan and his advisors have been waging a charm offensive on Israel. How are we to understand this sudden turn of events? In the 1990s, aside from the U.S., Turkey was Israel’s closest strategic ally. The alliance between the two countries was felt in everything from tourism to weapons sales, from business ties to joint training exercises. Following Erdogan’s initial rise to power in 2002, things began gradually shifting. Fashioning himself a new Ottoman sultan on a mission to rebuild the lost Ottoman Empire, Erdogan began warming up to the Muslim Brotherhood, and particularly to its Palestinian branch—the Hamas terror organization. http://carolineglick.com/what-explains-turkeys-sudden-charm-offensive-on-israel/

Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0

THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA Netanyahu: There's a lot of potential in the Arab sector PM not ruling out Arabs candidate on Likud slate: There is no reason for the Arab public to be outside the mainstream of power. Elad Benari, Canada , Jan 01 , 2021 10:37 PM Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Channel 13 News in an interview on Friday that he does not rule out an Arab candidate on the Likud slate in the upcoming election. Asked whether he saw potential in the Israeli Arab population, he replied, “A huge potential.” “Arab citizens see the huge things we have done,” Netanyahu explained. “We have brought four historic peace agreements with Arab countries, which have changed the face of the Middle East and Israeli society. Arabs and Jews are embracing in Dubai - and will embrace here as well. It is different, everything has changed." The Prime Minister noted that the Abraham Accords bring "huge tidings", as he put it, to Arab society, because it is a "huge economic opportunity, a destination for tourism and an opportunity to do business. The fact that Arab citizens speak Arabic is a huge human connection that is economically important. There is an opportunity here to enjoy billions of dollars of investment that will come from the Gulf states." Asked about reports that he was considering reserving a spot on the Likud slate for an Arab candidate, Netanyahu would not confirm or deny the reports but said, "I think it is a natural change that is happening now. For many years the Arab public has been outside the mainstream of power. Why? There is no reason for that." "They are people who contribute, take action, work. When I go to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, I am treated by an Arab doctor. When I go to a pharmacy, there are Arab pharmacists there. Everything is already in place," he added. “So let's go all the way and be a part of the success story of the State of Israel. That is what I want to see reflected in the elections." The interview follows recent cooperation between Netanyahu and the Ra’am party headed by MK Mansour Abbas, one of the factions that make up the Joint List. MORE -https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294128 [Sounds to me that Bibi is starting in the panic mode because this has not been his approach in the past and he is definitely terrified of losing power. – rdb]

IDF identifies several suspects near Lebanon-Israel border IDF soldiers fire in the air and drive away a number of suspects who crossed the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. Arutz Sheva North America Staff , Jan 01 , 2021 9:11 PM

Soldiers on Lebanon border (archive) IDF Spokesperson's Unit IDF soldiers on Friday evening identified a number of suspects who crossed the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. The suspects entered an Israeli enclave near Kibbutz Menara but did not cross the Lebanon-Israel border. The soldiers fired two shots into the air, driving the suspects away. Earlier this week, IDF lookouts identified three suspects approaching the border fence between Israel and Lebanon in the Metula area. One of the suspects climbed the fence, crossed several meters into Israeli territory, took a photo of himself and then returned to Lebanon. IDF forces arrived at the scene within two minutes, identified the suspects in Lebanese territory after they crossed back and carried out a suspicious arrest procedure that included firing into the air. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294124 To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.                        