Whoever thinks that the reason for the attack was only the tremendous hatred and the release of the prisoners, does not see the big picture. And I'm not talking about the picture of Hamas or the Palestinians, but about the really big picture.

Most Americans are our friends; the extreme left, Hamas in the US, most Palestinians in the US, and much of the top echelon of US defense, intelligence and government are NOT our friends. Decent law-abiding Americans, many Christians, most moral Americans….. they are our friends but their voices are not being heard. There was widespread shock and unbelief at the brutality the world witnessed. Now, already we are hearing the same old song. The world continues over many years to pay the price for not absolutely defeating an enemy. And so, the enmity and the growing threat from North Korea through all the consequent wars that were ended by compromise. The evil is never vanquished; rather it continues to grow and threaten the humane ‘winners’ of the wars. Cruelty without limit; conflict without end. Now will the Powerful, the Rich, the Military elites tie the hands of Israel or will they allow Israel to end this threat for once and for all? It is terrifying to see the rapid change of world opinion and witness the successful propaganda of those who hate Israel. So will Biden and those who influence him join them. May the God of Israel in His Mercy open their minds to see justice and protect Israel!

Even the experts seem to be unable to disentangle the quandary that is Syria and foresee the consequences of victory by any. By now most of us know who are involved in one way or another: Syrian leaders (Assad, etc.) Syrian rebels — Sunni/al Qaeda affiliated or lead Syrian rebels — Shiite/Iranian, Hizbullah affiliated or lead Syrian rebels — groups armed by Iran/Russia/US/? Iran Russia – Russian Troops on the Golan? Jordan Turkey – Is this article a ‘planted’ claim by Turkish officials blaming Syria and Iran for the street riots in their cities? News publisher Hurriyet , which first reported this, states 

ISRAEL ON-ALERT Syria: A war with no winners, millions of losers, a threat to the entire Middle East! On October 30, 2015, I wrote the following in an effort to describe the current status of Russian, Iranian, Syrian Forces, ISIS and Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon: 

The war in Syria: A mix of desert warfare, guerilla warfare and modern military units. Debka files describes the latest ISIS victories. ISIS seizes big Russian-Syrian T-4 air base ISIS seizes big Russian Syrian T-4 air base Islamic State forces pushed their assault forward to retake the central Syrian town of Palmyra Monday, Dec. 12. By evening, they had entered the big Russian-Syrian T-4 air base outside the town, carrying off substantial quantities of Russian armaments. Reporting this, debkafile’s military sources add that the booty they snatched included different types of ground-to-ground missiles as well as anti-tank and anti-air rockets. Striking from Sinai, a suicide bomber blew himself up a Copic church in Cairo during a service, killing at least 29 worshippers. There have been other recent attacks on Egypt by ISIS, in and from Sinai, and even an occasional attack on Southern Israel. Within Israel of late there has been no major damage or casualties. The attacks mostly act as a reminder that, with the support of local Bedouin tribesmen, ISIS has the ability to attack if, where and when they wish to do so. Due to the obvious disarray, lack of coordination and manpower, the so-called ‘western coalition’, such as it is, only seems to make the situation worse. Until there is a decision on who should be put in power and a guarantee of control of the country, they are just prolonging the suffering of the civilian population. Given the intent of ISIS to kill men, women and children alike in order to terrorize, control and purge dissenters, protecting them in place is impossible! The US activity is so uncoordinated with reality as to be ridiculous. US soldiers are put in harms way without clear directives and the probable success of their mission. Whatever success they may have is due to their own abilities on the ground, almost in spite of the directives of the high command. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who arrived in Baghdad Sunday, Dec. 11, was assigned by the Obama administration to make a last effort to reactivate the Mosul campaign…. Even if Carter can wave a magic wand and resolve all these issues, the momentum and high hopes that actuated the Mosul campaign when it started have been lost and can hardly be recovered before Barack Obama leaves the White House. Read the original article for additional and more detailed information describing the current situation. For the above reasons, the statement made by Israeli news sources that Israel must act independently to protect itself is truly an understatement. There is no one Israel can align with that has a clear strategy and is a dependable coalition partner for carrying the war through to a defined (and agreed) goal.

Money from the EU funds illegal building in Israel, within Jerusalem and in surrounding suburbs.

Yaakov Lappin, the author of this article, based his analysis on the premise that it was Assad’s troops who launched the chemical attack. Yet we now know that at least 4 Hezbollah fighters are being treated for exposure to the chemicals. They claim they encountered them in caves being used by insurgents. Either truth is more frightening than a strictly governmental military operation because we now know that weapons of mass destruction are in the hands one or more terrorist

FRANCE – The Paris Court of Appeals, which had overturned Karsenty’s libel conviction in 2008, convicted Karsenty on Wednesday and fined him about $9,000 in his long-running case against the France 2 station. Karsenty called the verdict “outrageous,” while a lawyer for France 2 said it was a victory for journalists, according to The Associated Press. France 2 and its Israel correspondent, Charles Enderlin, sued Karsenty for defamation in 2004 following his claims that a video report by Enderlin on the killing of 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura in Gaza in 2000 was doctored. Karsenty claimed the footage of al-Dura crouching with his father behind a barricade as bullets whizzed overhead was a hoax. The footage became an icon of the second Palestinian intifada… In returning the case to the appeals court, the high court said the appeals court had overstepped its bounds in ordering France 2 to send it the rushes of the report, according to the French news agency AFP. [ JTA News Brief ]

Are both Obama and Erdogan so arrogant as to think they can do as they please, conspire on war and peace, decide who is friend and who is foe, give a news conference announcing what everyone wants to hear, and no one will be the wiser? Do they really think we are all uninformed, ignorant and oblivious, or just uncaring? The media does its best to keep us uninformed; the educational system, including our universities, keeps us ignorant, but at least some of us pay attention and we DO care…and we will bring to light whatever is being hidden. Glenn Beck’s The Blaze and 2 other media outlets are the only ones to report on the request Erdogan brought with him in which he asked the US to file suit against Israel…..while the general public is smilingly told the sole purpose of the meeting was to bring Turkey and Israel closer together! The question remains: What is Obama’s response? We’ll soon see. The Blaze

International Headlines Scream: "Israelis killed in Bulgaria bus terror attack, minister says" - CNN

Perhaps you are aware that the 9th day of the Hebrew month of AV is a Jewish day of mourning, 2nd only to Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) for all of the Jewish people. On this day, Jews around the world are united in fasting, prayer, and ponder today’s significance of the greatest tragedies of Jewish history – the two-fold destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Yet this year, yes – this year, as thousands walked around the walls the Old City of Jerusalem, walking past every gate, looking up at Mount Moriah, where the Temple once stood, the Jews are not allowed to enter, not allowed to access the mount even through the controlled but unsafe Mughrabi bridge. [see update on status of bridge repairs: Mughrabi Bridge in images] You see it is the holiday of Ramadan for the Arabs and we must never inflict limitation on their access to the mosque on our Temple Mount. Yes, our Temple Mount. Like the Old City, it was taken in the 1967 war, but as Jews are self-committed to respecting the religion of others and its practice in the Jewish land, daily control over the Temple Mount with the mosques built there was given to the Arab Mullahs.