Fear of Islamic Jihad Grips Europe: The Beginning of Divine Retribution?

They supported terrorists against Israel with money and weapons and votes in the U.N. They looked the other way when Arabs ruthlessly murdered citizens in the marketplace and sleeping families in their homes.  And now Europe's pro-Arab sympathies have come home to roost.

"Also from the nations no one came to My aid to wreak vengeance on the foes of Israel, for they were all Israel's enemies, and I will wreak vengeance on them." - Commentary, Isaiah 63.3 (Redak)

Latest victims of Islamic terrorism:
Ayreh, Jonathan, and Gavriel Sandler

Survivor Fogel Family Massacre: 12 year old Tamar

Toulouse Terrorist Not Alone: Extreme Islam Threatens Europe

The terrorist who murdered 7 people in Toulouse may have been killed, but the phenomenon of extreme Islam in Europe did not die with him.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

First Publish: 3/23/2012, 5:15 AM

Israel National News

Mohammad Merah, the terrorist who murdered seven people in Toulouse, France, including four Jews, was killed following a standoff on Thursday, but the phenomenon of extreme Islam in Europe did not die with him.
In fact, terrorists who carry out attacks such as the ones Merah committed are by no means a surprise and are not something which is new for many Europeans in general and for France in particular.
On Thursday, a fan page for Merah was shut down by Facebook, but not before about 500 users had joined it, many of whom posted messages in support of the terrorist.
Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a new crackdown in France on the spread of terrorist-linked ideologies and activities.
Anyone who regularly visits "websites which support terrorism or call for hate or violence will be punished by the law," Sarkozy said.
He also promised a crackdown on anyone who goes abroad "for the purposes of indoctrination in terrorist ideology."
Sarkozy, as do leaders in England and Belgium, has had to deal with a phenomenon that has gained momentum in recent years whereby Islamic groups try to “conquer” European countries and force them to adhere to extreme Muslim Sharia laws.
Many Muslims see Europe as a continent on which a war should be fought to turn it into a “House of Islam”. These particular Muslims will not rest until they defeat the non-Muslims who are viewed as “infidels.”
In Belgium, for example, a video distributed on the internet in recent months depicts an extremist group who threatens to turn Belgium into a Muslim country.
It was also recently revealed that Muslims constitute one-quarter of the population of Brussels and that the most popular name for newborn babies in the city in 2011 was Muhammad. It was also the most popular name for babies in Antwerp, where an estimated 40 percent of primary school children are Muslims.
Sharia has also been implemented in several places in Britain to the dismay of local residents. According to reports last year, Islamists set up zones where the Muslim Sharia law would be enforced.
Some communities were bombarded with bright yellow posters which read: ‘You are entering a Sharia-controlled zone – Islamic rules enforced.’
The messages were found on bus stops and street lamps and were seen across certain boroughs in London. They order that ‘no gambling’, ‘no music or concerts’, ‘no drugs or smoking’ and ‘no alcohol’ should be seen in the Sharia-controlled zone.
European leaders are aware of the phenomenon and are trying to deal with it, yet at the same time fear that a direct confrontation with these groups will lead to terrorist attacks in these quiet countries. Perhaps the Toulouse terrorist will turn on that red light and will place a warning sign that will cause leaders to work to prevent the next attack.

Jewish World Waking Up to An Ancient Prophecy About Moshiach

An ancient prophecy about the coming of the Messiah, quoted by the Rebbe in 1991 et the time of the Gulf War, is appearing now in Jewish news sources such as Israel National News, Hamodia, and below, the Jewish Press. This prophecy, from the Yalkut Shimoni, reveals that Arab nations fighting each other heralds the arrival of the Messiah and the unfolding of the Messianic Era.

Crises And Wake-Up Calls: The Only Answer

By: Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

Esther Jungreis

Published: December 7th, 2011                                   

Latest update: March 1st, 2012

 There is an amazing prophecy in the Yalkut Shimoni – a Midrashic compilation that eerily foretells the events of today: Rabbi Yitzchok said, “The year in which Melech HaMashiach will be revealed, all the nations of the world will be provoking each other. The king of Persia (Iran) will provoke the king of Arabia (Saudi Arabia). The king of Arabia will go to the King of Edom (the leader of the Christian nations – the president of the United States) to take counsel, and the king of Persia (Ahmadinejad) will threaten to destroy the entire world.

The nations of the world will be outraged. They will fall on their faces in panic and experience pains like birth pangs. Israel too, will be outraged and in a state of panic ask, Where do we go?

“But say unto them, ‘My children, do not fear. The time of your redemption has come…. and this last redemption shall be different from the first that was followed by further bondage and pain. After this last redemption, you will not experience any further pain or subjection” (Yalkut Shemoni, Isaiah 59).

The Klausenberger Rebbe, zt”l, referring to this teaching, said, “Remember these words. They are perhaps not understood now, but in time they will be and be a source of strength to our people.”

Had you heard these prophecies centuries ago, when they were written, you might have scoffed. Even if you read them as recently as 1970, you would have been hard put to believe it, for of all the Muslim countries the Shah’s Iran was probably the friendliest to the U.S. and Israel. But today the impossible has become possible, and events are unfolding so rapidly we have difficulty absorbing their impact. How are we to understand it all?

The Yalkut compares our suffering to birth pangs. But birth pangs are deceptive; when the contractions begin, it’s easy to ignore them because they are mild and occur at long intervals. As birth becomes immanent, however, the contractions intensify and the pain becomes more intense. And just when it appears the woman can no longer endure the pain, the baby is born and new life enters the world.

It is these labor pains to which we are witness today. How long will they last? It’s anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain – please G-d, the birth is sure to take place. In the interim, however, we may ask, “Is it possible to ease the suffering? Is it possible to protect ourselves from these painful contractions?”

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Netanyahu Gives Obama a Megillah, A Not So Subtle Message About Iran.

Right before the Jewish holiday of Purim (this year on March 8), Netanyahu met with Barack Obama in the White House. On the agenda was the nuclear threat from Iran (the seat of ancient Persia). The Prime Minister's gift to Obama, a Megillas Esther (a scroll retelling the miracle of Purim) was not lost on anyone who knows the story: many centuries ago when the Jews of Persia were threatened with annihilation, the leadership of Mordechai and the Jewish Queen Esther strengthened the commitment of the Jewish people to their faith to the point that a great miracle was wrought for them and they defeated their enemies. 

In our time, the Rebbe said that because we are in the era of the Redemption, "Jews can maintain their Judaism with great strength and mastery, also over the nations of the world, for it all depends on their will."

(Parshas Vayigash, 1992)   

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Netanyahu Gives Obama a Purim Message to Heed

By Jeffrey Goldberg Mar 7, 2012 11:45 AM ET     

Earlier this week, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited President Barack Obama in the White House. The two met together with their national-security advisers for 90 minutes, then had a 30-minute chat alone, then moved to a lunch together with various high officials of their governments.

Many words were exchanged during these meetings, but it turns out they all might have been superfluous. Netanyahu delivered his overriding message quite efficiently, and almost wordlessly, in the form of a gift to the president.

The gift he handed Obama was a copy of “Megillah of Esther,” the scroll that recounts the heroics of Queen Esther in ancient Persia.... 

The scroll tells the story of the beautiful Esther and her cousin, the wise Mordechai, and how they plot -- successfully -- to keep the evil vizier Haman from murdering Persia’s Jews.

The Real Message

The prime minister of Israel is many things, but subtle is not one of them. The message of Purim is: When the Jews see a murderous conspiracy forming against them, they will act to disrupt the plot. A further refinement of the message is: When the Jews see a plot forming against them in Persia, they will act to disrupt the plot, even if Barack Obama wishes that they would wait for permission.

Leading Torah Scholar Exhorts Israel to Prepare for the Redemption.

In 1991 at the time of the Gulf War,  the Rebbe  MHM announced to the Jewish people as a prophecy, "The time of your Redemption has arrived. " The Rebbe referred to an ancient mystical text, the Yalkut Shemoni, which describes the Gulf War in detail and says that at this time Moshiach (the Messiah) will be revealed. Recently this passage is appearing in the news with reference to the current crisis with Iran. A secular Israeli paper, Yediot Achranot, printed the ancient text from the Yalkut, and said that maybe it applies right now. Also, a venerable Torah sage quoted this passage and told a packed crowd in Brooklyn, NY:

"Maybe the time for the Geulah* has arrived. We must prepare for the Geulah.”

* Geulah = the Redemption

Art by Baruch Nachshon

From Matzav.com
Rav Moshe Wolfson spoke Tuesday night (2/14/12) in a rare mid-week assembly for his kehillah, Emunas Yisroel in Boro Park, asking bluntly why there is no greater uproar within the community over the potential for war over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Why are we quiet? Where is the awakening? Why is everyone so apathetic?” asked Rav Wolfson, who is also mashgiach of Yeshivah Torah Vodaath. “Everyone is busy with narishkeiten, we don’t hear the alarm? We don’t know that we have to pierce the heavens for rachamim from the Ribbono Shel Olam?”

Rav Wolfson told the packed beis medrash of nearly 1,000 people that the potential for a war encompassing Iran, Israel, Europe and the United States over the next few weeks is a real one, and Klal Yisrael must prepare itself spiritually.

“Everyone knows that there is currently a growing danger from Iran - and it is a great error for whoever does not know this,” Rav Wolfson said. “Why should a Yid not know what is happening to [other] Yidden? Everyone must know what is happening in regard to other Yidden. Everyone must know what is happening in Eretz Yisrael.”

Rav Wolfson began talking this past Shabbos about the dangers from the Iran crisis, when he stopped and said that it was not a subject to discuss on Shabbos. He said he would continue the topic during the week. The last time he called for a special asifah during the week to discuss current events was in 1991, prior to the Gulf War.

Rav Wolfson started his address, which was carried live by Kol Halashon, with the famous Rambam, who writes that it is a mitzvah to daven during troubled times. “If you don’t daven,” the Rambam says, “then it is a cruelty, since it will get worse.”

“The leader in Iran says clearly - he repeated it this week - that he wants to kill, Rachmana litzlan, every Yid in the world, just like Haman,” Rav Wolfson said. “If he will be successful, chas v’shalom, in getting the nuclear bomb - and experts says he will have it by the summer - it will be a great danger for Klal Yisrael.”

“A good part of the world’s Jews live in Israel, and the government there says that they will attack Iran first, before they could get the nuclear bomb. If that happens, everyone knows that that will cause a world war.”

Rav Wolfson said that he heard that Harav Yosef Rosenblum, Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivah Shaarei Yosher, spoke recently about the crisis with Iran - he said that during this eis tzarah, “Hashem is judging us on every klal and on every prat.”

Rav Wolfson quoted the Pesikta, who says that the year when Moshiach will come all nations will battle each other. The spark that will set it off, according to the Medrash, will be when the king of Paras - which is modern-day Iran - will threaten “Arabia,” presumably Saudi Arabia, such as is happening today.

Arabia will go for an alliance with Edom - the culture of Edom is today’s Western world, Europe and United States. Paras will then destroy the world and the Yidden will be thrown into turmoil. Hashem will then say: “Do not fear, the time for your Geulah has come.”

Rav Wolfson noted how eerily similar this Medrash is to what is occurring today.

“We don’t have to be in a panic,” Rav Wolfson said, “Hashem will perform miracles for us. But efsher takeh. Maybe the time for the Geulah has arrived. We must prepare for the Geulah.”

Islam Cracking? Saudi Tweets Blast Mohammed.

Two Saudis are in trouble over blasphemous tweets that debunk Mohammed as a prophet and question his character. Here are quotes from Al Amri, a Muslim who converted to Christianity:

"I say about Muhammad... anyone who has read his biography knows that his words contain a great deal of shabbiness."

"Muhammad permitted vile abuse of non-Muslims and infidels, and killing even Muslims, insofar as it resulted in victory for Islam."

"Failing to acknowledge that Muhammad's teachings are criminal, impious and intrusive makes it impossible to mend our circumstances."

And from columnist Hazma Kashgari, here are some "offending" quotes, written to Mohammed on his birthday:

“On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you."

“On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more."

“On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more." 

Regarding Islam and Christianity, Maimonides writes: "When the true Messianic king will arise and prove successful, his (position becoming) exalted and uplifted, they will all return and realize their ancestors endowed them with a false heritage; their prophets caused them to err." (Laws of Kings, Chapter 11)

Saudi Arabia's Twitter Apostasy Crisis Widens

A Christian blogger in Saudi Arabia known as the "Mecca Pastor" has joined
Hazma Kashgari in the spotlight for 'blasphemous' Tweets.

By Gavriel Queenann, Israel National News                       

First Publish: 2/22/2012, 7:06 PM

Another Saudi national has waded into controversy after he insulted the Prophet Mohammad via his Twitter account on Wednesday.
Hamoud Saleh Al Amri is a self-described convert to Christianity who lives in Mecca and calls himself the "Mecca Pastor."
Al Amri's tweets sparked a flood of condemnations from social network users who called for his arrest and trial. Some suggested death as "the only way" to silence those who "dared to insult God and His prophet."
There were also complaints that the tweets were “disturbingly profane and extremely shocking.”
The offending Tweets were a part of an ongoing debate Al Amri and Saudi criticsseeking to convince him to "return to Islam," on February 20 and 21.
In one Tweet, he wrote, "I say about Muhammad... anyone who has read his biography knows that his words contain a great deal of shabbiness."
"Muhammad permitted vile abuse of non-Muslims and infidels, and killing even Muslims, insofar as it resulted in victory for Islam," he wrote in another.
"I discovered that corruption and nepotism under the yoke of the Saudi regime is due to Muhammad," he wrote in another Tweet. "Failing to acknowledge that Muhammad's teachings are criminal, impious and intrusive makes it impossible to mend our circumstances."
He also tweeted that he “loved Muslims,” but added “any Muslim who wrote the same things I have written about Jesus would not be charged in court.”
Al Amri has been imprisoned before for "attacks on Islam," according to the Saudi dailySabq. His first arrest was in 2004.  He also waded into controversy in Saudi Arabia's blogsphere in 2009 with similar comments.
Al Amri's lastest Internet fusillade at Islam and the Saudi regime comes on the heels of the arrest of former al-Biad columnist Hazma Kashgari, 23, for a series of "blasphemous" tweets he made in honor of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday.
Kashgari recanted his tweets amid calls for his death and fled to Malaysia, but wasarrested by authorities there and returned to Saudi Arabia, where he remains incustody awaiting a trial for blasphemy by Riyad's religious courts.

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New video: We Gotta Live Together.

This video may seem simplistic, but it does give you ideas on how a Jew could be nicer to another.

The once unimaginable now becomes possible..."Imagine what's next."

Speaking of the Messianic Era, the great sage Maimonides writes, "In that Era there will be neither famine or war, neither envy or competition, for good thing will flow in abundance and all the delights will be as freely available as the dust."

"We are now entering a period of radical transformation...We will soon have the ability to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman, and child on the planet."
                               - Peter Diamandis

Peter H. Diamandis

Why The Future

 Will Be

 Much Better

 Than You Think

This excerpt from  ’Abundance: Why the Future Will Be Much Better
 Than You Think’ (Free Press, 2012) by Peter H. Diamandis and 
Steven Kotler, appeared in the Feb. 13 edition of FORBES magazine.

Tapping into transformational technologies promises a better future for everyone.

A quick glance at the headlines lets us know the score: dark days ahead. With growing concerns about ­population size, economic meltdowns, energy shortages, water and food shortages—this list goes on—alarmists are having a field day. For the first time in a long time ­parents are predicting a worse life for their children than their own.

Yet nothing could be further from the truth. We are now entering a ­period of radical transformation. Progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, infinite computing, ubiquitous broadband networks, digital manufacturing, nanomaterials, synthetic ­biology and many other breakthrough technologies will let us make greater gains in the next two decades than we’ve made in the previous 200 years. We will soon have the ability to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp.

If that sounds like hogwash, there are good neurological reasons for this reaction. Before we turn our attention to where we’re going, let’s first ­address why it’s so difficult to believe we can ever get there.

Every second our senses are deluged with data, more than we can possibly process. To deal with this overload, the brain is continuously sifting and sorting, trying to tease apart the critical from the casual. Since nothing is more critical to the brain than survival, the first filter most of this incoming information encounters is the amygdala, an almond-shaped portion of the ­temporal lobe responsible for ­primal emotions like rage, hate and fear. It’s also our early-warning ­system, an organ on high alert, constantly scanning our environment for anything that could threaten survival. Anxious under normal conditions, once stimulated, the amygdala becomes hypervigilant. But so potent is this response that once turned on, it’s difficult to shut off, and this is a problem in the modern world.

These days we’re media-saturated. Thousands of news outlets compete for our mind share by vying for the amygdala’s attention. The old newspaper saw “If it bleeds, it leads” works because the amygdala is always looking for something to fear. Our early-warning system evolved in an era of immediacy, when threats were of the “tiger in the bush” variety. Things have changed. Many of today’s dangers are probabilistic—terrorists might attack, the economy could nose-dive—and the amygdala can’t tell the difference. Worse, the system is designed not to shut off until the threat has vanished completely, but probabilistic dangers never vanish completely. Add in impossible-to-avoid news media continuously scaring us in their attempt to capture market share and you have a brain convinced it’s living in a state of siege.

What does the world really look like? Turns out it’s not the nightmare most suspect. Violence is at an alltime low, personal freedom at a historic high. During the past century child mortality decreased by 90%, while average human life span increased by 100%. Food is cheaper and more plentiful than ever (groceries cost 13 times less today than in 1870). Poverty has declined more in the past 50 years than the previous 500. In fact, adjusted for inflation, incomes have tripled in the past 50 years. Even Americans living under the poverty line today have access to a telephone, toilet, television, running water, air-conditioning and a car. Go back 150 years and the richest robber barons could have never dreamed of such wealth.

Nor are these changes restricted to the developed world. In Africa today a Masai warrior on a cellphone has better mobile communications than the President did 25 years ago; if he’s on a smartphone with Google, he has ­access to more information than the President did just 15 years ago, with a feast of standard features: watch, stereo, camera, videocamera, voice recorder, GPS tracker, video teleconferencing equipment, a vast library of books, films, games, music. Just 20 years ago these same goods and services would have cost over $1 million.
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