More War Preparations In The Epicenter, Christian Revival In Iran

First to the increasing war preparations in the Middle East - a common theme these days:

New Israeli Taxes Are Steps Towards A $25-30bn War

They have therefore avoided discussing the consequences of the new measures – aside from a cap on the national deficit – or their duration. Israel’s leaders appreciate that the country is perilously close to war but they can’t tell for how long it will last or how it will end. A short war might boost economic development while a long conflict costing billions would require more belt-tightening.

Gone are the old days when an embattled Israel was able to ask and receive from Washington easy-term loans to cover its war costs, military hardware gratis to replenish depleted weapons and ammo stores and/or international loan guarantees. Today, Jerusalem knows that given the present state of the US economy and the possibility of Israel having to act unilaterally against Iran, it will have to come up with its own war funding.

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave part of the game away about the dual purpose of the new measures in the comments they made Wednesday and Thursday, July 25-26.

Both used an interesting tactic: First, they focused first on the dry facts and figures of government spending, is deficit, revenue etc. but they then made speeches about the new security dangers facing Israel and the high cost of repelling them.

There is knowing how Bashar Assad means to use Syria’s large stocks of chemical and biological stores, which way the Syrian situation is destined to develop, or against whom Israel may be called upon to fight.

How much would it cost to send troops into Syria to seize control of Syria’s unconventional war stocks and prevent their use against Israel? A large Israeli force would be needed for this preemptive raid. But what then? Do the soldiers’ stay on guard indefinitely, remove the stock from Syria or destroy it regardless of collateral damage? Those options would carry a price tag in the range of $1-2 billion.

This was a broad hint at Israel’s sense that it has no choice but to attack Iran’s nuclear program because the cost of inaction would be far greater.
Barak also commented that the lesson Israel has drawn from the Syrian calamity is that when it comes to a security crunch, Israel can only rely on itself.

...analysts conclude that if this sum can be made available to the Israeli economy in a war crisis, the national deficit could be kept at a manageable level and foreign capital discouraged from fleeing the country. It therefore looks as though the Netanyahu government is digging the Israeli economy in to weather a war and setting up a strategic financial reserve in the range of $25-30 billion, and perhaps more, for the worst-case scenario.

Israelis Scramble For Gas Masks As Syria Deteriorates

Israel’s gas mask distribution centers are reporting a significant rise in the number of civilians seeking protection against chemical weapons.

Over the past two days distribution centers gave out 3,700gas mask kits each day, Maariv reported Wednesday. By comparison, since the beginning of February 2010 the distribution centers, located in post offices and malls around the country, distributed kits to about 2,200 people a day.

The jump in interest in gas masks comes amid fears that terror groups may gain control of Syria’s large stockpile of chemical weapons. Officials say Syria could transfer the weapons to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Tuesday that such a move would be cause for Israel to go to war.

"Muslim Brothers Plotting Overthrow Of Gulf States

Dubai's chief of police has warned of an "international plot" to overthrow the governments of Gulf Arabcountries, saying the region needs to be prepared to counter any threat from Islamist dissidents as well as Syria and Iran.

"There's an international plot against Gulf states in particular and Arab countries in general...This is preplanned to take over our fortunes," Khalfan told reporters at a gathering late on Wednesday marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"The bigger our sovereign wealth funds and the more money we put in the banks of Western countries, the bigger the plot to take over our countries...The brothers and their governments in Damascus and North Africa have to know that the Gulf is a red line, not only for Iran but also for the Brothers as well."

Most of the detainees since April are Islamists, targeted by an official clampdown amid concern they may be emboldened by the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in other Arab countries such as Egypt.

"I had no idea that there is this large number of Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf states. We have to be alert and on guard because the wider these groups become, the higher probability there is for trouble," Khalfan said on Wednesday.

"We are aware that there are groups plotting to overthrow Gulf governments in the long term."

This commentary is well worth reading and puts some perspective on current events:

From Arab Spring To The Coming Nuclear Winter

How about some good news for a change? (see below)

"Greatest Christian Revival In The World" In Iran

A former research scientist, he now helps leads Iran Alive Ministries, which operates the Shabakeh7 channel and it’s 24-hour a day programming into Iran.

Pastor Hormoz Shariat, Ph.D., who is known as “the Billy Graham of Iran.” His television show on the Shabakeh7, or Network 7, channel is so popular that Shariat is said to be the third most recognizable figure in Iran after Ayatollah Khamanei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The name Shabekah7 is a reference to the fact that there are six official television stations in Iran. Although Shabekah7 is an outside station beamed in via satellite, it is estimated to be watched far more than the official networks.

Although satellite dishes are technically illegal in Iran, more than 60 percent of the homes have one.

“Despite tremendous resistance, the church in Iran right now is growing at a rate of 20 percent per year. Conservative estimates claim that there are presently between 2 to 7 million Christians in Iran. Most of these are newer converts. At the rate the present revival is spreading, in just a few years, that level of growth could be truly explosive,” sources reported.

“It is absolutely essential that the American and Western church wake up right now to this moment of opportunity to bring Jesus to the Iranian people, who are so deeply hungering for the freedom and eternal life that only he offers. In any generation, the goal of the prophetic church is to recognize what God is doing in the earth, and then get behind it. We must get fully behind ministries like Iran Alive. Jesus said that we must recognize the harvest before us. If there is anywhere in the world where the fields are white, it is Iran. But we must act before the window of opportunity closes.”

And this:

Temple Institute Responds: Video Is Fresh Perspective (New Temple)

A wordless video about the Third Temple has turned the Arab world upside down, prompting the Temple Institute to clarify the film.

A video produced by the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, has apparently turned the Arab world upside down, sparking claims of "insults" to Egypt's new president and prompting the Temple Institute to clarify its motivations for creating the 90-second film.

The Temple Institute is an educational, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the Biblical commandment to build a Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The video, featured byArutz Sheva, is about the ninth day in the Hebrew month of Av, when both the First and Second Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed.

"The video, which has gone viral, is designed as an educational tool for the Jewish community, to give a fresh and positive perspective on the Holy Temple whose message of peace and prayer is of central importance to millions around the world," said Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of Temple Institute.

"Although aimed at the Jewish community primarily, we have received well wishes from across the globe from people of all races, religions and creeds and we have achieved our goals in highlighting the universal significance of the Holy Temple as a house of peace and prayer for all mankind," Richman clarified in a statement released Thursday to media.

The entire concept of the Holy Temple is one of peace, prayer and unity, something that Jews worldwide pray for three times daily. The Children Are Ready has proven that, after two thousand years since its destruction, the Holy Temple is still of central importance to millions of people worldwide. In this light, we hope that people will continue to watch and share the clip until it becomes the most popular Jewish video of all time.”

Arab League Gets Behind New Palestinian Statehood Bid

The Arab League has thrown its weight behind a new proposal to unilaterally seek UN recognition of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state. That according to Palestinian Authority officials who spoke to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

Last year the Palestinian leadership attempted a similar stunt, which is in fact a violation of its signed agreements to only establish statehood via a comprehensive peace treaty with Israel. But the move was stymied when the Palestinians failed to gain the support of at least nine UN Security Council member states.

This time, the Palestinians intend to go directly to the General Assembly, where the proposal is all but certain to win majority support. While the General Assembly can only recognize "non-member states of the UN," such a recognition would in effect mark the independence of a "State of Palestine."

UN Arms Treaty Takes Shape, Raising Alarm Among Gun Rights Advocates