Antonio Tajani who served in recent years as the deputy and acting president of the European Parliament was chosen on 17 Jan. 2017 to serve as president of the European parliament. 63-year-old Tajani defeated his left-wing rival by a significant margin and will serve for the next 2.5 years in place of Martin Schultz who served the two previous terms. The Conference of European Rabbis welcomed Tajani's election. The head of the Conference, Moscow Chief Rabbi Pinhas Goldschmidt said that Tajani is a "true friend and lover of Israel who has proved in his actions and declarations that he is 'good for the Jews'". In a speech before senior European rabbis and rabbinical judges and leaders of Jewish organizations from 32 European countries, Tajani said the rise in anti-Semitic acts must cause us to lead a determined fight against it and to eradicate it. We in the European Parliament will fight for the right to live on this continent as Jews. "We respect the precepts of your faith and will fight without compromise for this right. The Jews are and were an important part of Europe's history, present and future and we will continue cooperation between the EU and the Conference of European Rabbis and its representatives in foiling anti-Jewish legislation and fighting anti-Smuts," said Tajani. The Conference's representative in the EU, Belgian Chief Rabbi Avraham Gigi said that Tajani will balance the EU's attitude towards Israel as a "true friend of the Jewish nation." (INN) "Behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isa. 60: 2-3 [Comment]

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on 18 Jan. 2017 promised a "diplomatic response” if USA President-elect Donald Trump moves the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Speaking at a press conference in Bethlehem, Abbas called on Trump not to move the embassy to Jerusalem, warning that there would be a "political and diplomatic” response to such a move. He did not elaborate. The PA chairman said there is a need to establish an international mechanism and a set schedule to realize a comprehensive peace based on the resolutions of international institutions, UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the two-state solution within the pre-1967 borders. He also claimed that the year 2017 is the last chance to discuss and work towards the implementation of the two-state solution in order to reach a peace agreement with the "Israeli entity". Abbas said this opportunity must not be missed and called on all the countries that have not yet recognized the "state of Palestine” to do so. The PA chairman has in recent weeks warned several times against moving the embassy to Jerusalem. On 17 Jan. 2017 he told Trump that moving the embassy would be a "provocation that would harm the peace process”. Two weeks ago, Abbas wrote Trump a letter in which he warned the President-elect against moving the American embassy, saying that such a move would be crossing a "red line" and could jeopardize peace prospects. (Arutz-7) Upon reading PA leader, Mahmoud Abbas’ ongoing, tiresome rhetoric regarding the dangers to the so called "peace process,” and who is or might be responsible for the collapse of the "two state solution” or what must be done to end "Israel’s occupation,” etc. it can only be said that lies and failed responsibilities writhe and squirm at the feet of the Palestinians and their terrorist loving, Israel hating leaders. In truth, they want Israel destroyed, period, and "peace,” is the last thing on their minds – rather text books that teach Palestinian children to hate and glorify the murder of Jews, no recognition what-so-ever of Israel in text books and maps, the glorification of terrorist murderers as national and religious heroes, and not one, single, baby step towards peaceful co-existence with the Jewish state.

One can only continue to hope and pray that Abbas and the Palestinian people will escape the sewer of deception in which they continue to wallow, and that the rest of the world will stop buying into it as well. In finality, Mr. Abbas, you and those you purportedly lead are the ones to blame for the ruin of the "Peace Process.” It is already dead, not threatened, not endangered, but in the grave. So go do something, anything, worthy of honor and respect with a glimmer of hope for its resurrection! Spend some of the billions that tax payers of the world continue to send to you to build bridges - literally and otherwise - in your relationships with Israel and the nations, rather than paying terrorist salaries and sponsoring hate mongering and murder against God’s beloved people, Israel. [Comment]

 Incoming President Donald Trump was asked by Israeli media sources on 17 Jan. 2017, if he intends to go through with his pledge to move the USA Embassy to Jerusalem. "Of course I remember what I said about Jerusalem. You know that I am not a person who breaks promises," Trump responded in remarks published on Thur. 19 Jan. 2017. Likewise, this week, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Trump's nominee to be the USA ambassador to the UN, was asked during her confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if she supported Trump's campaign promise to move the USA embassy to Jerusalem. "Absolutely," Haley said. "And not only is that what Israel wants, but that is what this Congress supports." (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK/Times of Israel) Pray that Donald Trump will keep his repeatedly published promise to move the USA embassy to Jerusalem. Intercede that he and his administration will grow in their love and respect for- and delight in - Israel and the Jewish people. May the lies that have been perpetrated against the Jewish state be exposed, unraveled, shattered. [Comment]

While serving as a senior adviser in the White House, Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will work to help broker a Middle East peace deal. Trump said that Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband, would take on the task of negotiating peace between Israelis and Palestinians– an appointment Trump has previously floated due to the fact that Kushner "knows the region, knows the people, knows the players." Kushner has no previous diplomatic experience, but steered Trump's foreign policy throughout his presidential campaign and subsequent presidential transition. "What we know, he’s a really tough, smart guy, and we hope he will bring new energy to our region,” Israel's defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said of Kushner. (J.Post) "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers” Prov 11:14. Intercede earnestly for Donald Trump and his carefully chosen administrative team that they may strengthen and lead the USA with wisdom and clarity, and cultivate among the nations respect and support for Israel. Pray also for the physical protection of Donald Trump from political and religious extremists. [Comment]

President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office using two Bibles - one belonging to Abraham Lincoln, and the other a gift from his mom, the inaugural committee announced this week. "In his first inaugural address, President Lincoln appealed to the ‘better angels of our nature,’” said committee chair Tom Barrack "As he takes the same oath of office 156 years later, President-elect Trump is humbled to place his hand on Bibles that hold special meaning both to his family and to our country,” Barrack added. The Lincoln Bible, a burgundy velvet-bound copy, was used by two other presidents for their swearing-in: Lincoln in 1861 and Barack Obama in 2009 and 2013. Trump’s family Bible was given to him in 1955, by his mother when he graduated from Sunday Church Primary School at First Presbyterian Church in Queens. (NY Post) [Comment]

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, blasted the global body over its treatment of Israel at her Senate confirmation hearing, on Wed. 18 Jan. 2017. "Nowhere has the UN’s failure been more consistent and more outrageous than in its bias against our close ally Israel," Haley said in the opening remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Any honest assessment also finds an institution that is often at odds with American national interests and American taxpayers." Noting that the United States contributes 22 percent of the UN budget, far more than any other country, Haley said, "Are we getting what we pay for?" She also promised to work with USA lawmakers to pursue what she described as "seriously needed change" at the United Nations. The UN’s anti-Israel bias is well-known and was even acknowledged by its former Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, before he stepped down at the beginning of this month. Haley’s hearing came weeks after the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2334 which was critical of Israel’s presence in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. Some Republican lawmakers, led by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, have threatened to cut USA funding for the UN following the anti-Israel resolution. (Reuters) [Comment]

Honest

Curious

Dependable

Supportive

Understanding 

Be the friend you'd want to have

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Sunday 5 Jan. 2016 that if USA President-elect Donald Trump moves the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem it would have "extremely serious consequences."Speaking as 70 countries gather in Paris to try to revive Israeli-Arab peace efforts, Ayrault told French TV he believed Trump would find it "impossible" to fulfill the pledge he made during his campaign to transfer the embassy. "When you are president of the United States, you cannot take such a stubborn and such a unilateral view on this issue. You have to try to create the conditions for peace," Ayrault said. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas warned hours before the Paris summit that peace could be dealt a mortal blow if Trump, who has vowed unstinting support for Israel, moves the USA Embassy to Jerusalem. Doing so would reverse decades of USA policy that has until now maintained that the final status of Jerusalem. (INN) Equation of terrorism, settlements is morally twisted [Comment]

Dozens of countries sent their senior-most diplomats to the conference on Middle East peace held in Paris on Sunday, but the United Kingdom did not, ostensibly as a trust-building gesture to the incoming Trump administration. Prime Minister Theresa May sent neither her foreign minister, Boris Johnson, nor her envoy to France to the parlay. "We have particular reservations about an international conference intended to advance peace between the parties that does not involve them– indeed, which is taking place against the wishes of the Israelis– and which is taking place just days before the transition to a new American President when the USA will be the ultimate guarantor of any agreement," a Foreign Office statement read. While most countries in attendance signed on to a communique urging the two parties to recommit to a two-state solution, and to cease "unilateral steps" that entrench the conflict, London demurred, ultimately choosing not to back the document. There are risks," the UK government warned, "that this conference hardens positions at a time when we need to be encouraging the conditions for peace." (Jerusalem Post)Intercede that many additional nations will recognize that the "conditions for peace,” is indeed the point in terms of advancing any positive talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Among the many points that need be dealt with are Palestinian terrorism against Israel and the leaders and society that support it; Palestinian glorification of terrorists who have died in attacks against the Jewish state, Palestinian school text books that plant hatred for Israel, in the hearts of children, refusal to recognize the Jewish state and a host of other issues. Presently, there is not a glimmer of evidence or political hope that Palestinians aspire or intend to live side-by-side with Israel in peace. [Comment]

Some 70 countries on Sunday 15 Jan. 2017 reaffirmed that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned they would not recognize any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations. The final communique of a one-day international Middle East peace conference in Paris shied away from explicitly criticizing plans by president-elect Donald Trump to move the USA Embassy to Jerusalem, although diplomats said the wording sent a "subliminal" message. Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and to move the USA Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital, despite international objections. Countries including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the UN Security Council were in Paris for the conference, that Israeli PM Netanyahu rejected as "futile." Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians were represented. The final statement said interested parties would meet again before year-end. But Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that "this conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday. Tomorrow will look different and that tomorrow is very close." (J.Post) [Comment]