NETANYAHU REJECTS OBAMA'S CALL FOR A RETURN TO 1967 BORDERS

Prime minister reacts to Obama's Middle East speech, saying Palestinian state cannot come at Israel’s expense.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday issued a quick response to US President Barack Obama's Middle East speech that was noticeably negative in tone.

While thanking Obama for his commitment to peace, the statement put out by the PMO said that the establishment of a Palestinian state cannot come at Israel’s expense.

More:

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=221397

CONGRESSMAN ALLEN WEST GETS IT RIGHT ON ISRAEL

(WASHINGTON) --- Congressman Allen West (FL-22) released this statement today:


"Today's endorsement by President Barack Obama of the creation of a Hamas-led Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, signals the most egregious foreign policy decision his administration has made to date, and could be the beginning of the end as we know it for the Jewish state.


From the moment the modern day state of Israel declared statehood in 1948, to the end of the 1967 Six Day War, Jews were forbidden access to their holiest site, the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, controlled by Jordan's Arab army.


The pre-1967 borders endorsed by President Obama would deny millions of the world's Jews access to their holiest site and force Israel to return the strategically important Golan Heights to Syria, a known state-sponsor of terrorism.


Resorting to the pre-1967 borders would mean a full withdrawal by the Israelis from the West Bank and the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. Make no mistake, there has always been a Nation of Israel and Jerusalem has been and must always be recognized as its rightful capital.


In short, the Hamas-run Palestinian state envisioned by President Obama would be devastating to Israel and the world's 13.3 million Jews. It would be a Pavlovian style reward to a declared Islamic terrorist organization, and an unacceptable policy initiative.


America should never negotiate with the Palestinian Authority- which has aligned itself with Hamas. Palestine is a region, not a people or a modern state. Based upon Roman Emperor Hadrian's declaration in 73 AD, the original Palestinian people are the Jewish people.


It's time for the American people to stand by our strongest ally, the Jewish State of Israel, and reject this foreign policy blunder of epic proportions.


While the winds of democracy may blow strong in the Middle East, history has demonstrated that gaps in leadership can lead to despotic regimes. I have questions for President Obama: 'Who will now lead in Egypt?' and 'Why should American taxpayers provide foreign aid to a nation where the next chapter in their history may be the emergence of another radical Islamic state?'


President Obama has not stood for Israel or the Jewish people and has made it clear where the United States will stand when Palestine attempts to gain recognition of statehood by the United Nations. The President should focus on the real obstacle to security- the Palestinian leadership and its ultimate goal to eliminate Israel and the Jewish people."

PCUSA Votes to Allow Openly Gay Clergy

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has become the fourth Protestant denomination in the U.S. to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy.
It follows a majority vote by the 173 presbyteries (district governing bodies) on Tuesday to change the body’s constitution in order to allow openly gay people in same-sex relationships to be ordained as ministers, elders and deacons.

The move does away with the constitutional requirement for clergy to live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.”

It also ends 33 years of wrangling between supporters and opponents of the move and reverses the outcome of a key vote two years ago, when the majority of presbyteries blocked the proposal.

Last year, the PC(USA)'s highest legislative body voted to remove the ban against noncelibate homosexual clergy. It was the fourth time since 1997 that the General Assembly passed such a resolution. Previously, the measure was rejected each time by the denomination's presbyteries. A majority vote from the presbyteries is required to ratify the overture.
More: http://www.christianpost.com/news/pcusa-votes-to-allow-openly-gay-clergy-50176/

Wiccans, Druids, & ‘Earth-Centered Groups’ Get Outdoor Chapel at Air Force Academy

Colorado Springs, CO is seen by many as the center of the Christian evangelical community in the American West. So it is more than ironic that the United States Air Force Academy, also based in Colorado Springs, has just opened a prayer circle and Stonehenge-like area so that its Wiccans, Druids, and “earth-centered groups” have a place to worship.

“This outdoor worship space is something we have created to help people of all religions,” Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, the academy’s superintendent, told The Gazette before a ribbon-cutting on the site.

So how many people will this benefit? The Gazette says there are 10 cadets who regularly attend “earth-centered” worship services, which encompasses New Age religion, paganism, Druids, ancient Norse beliefs, and Wicca.

More:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/wiccans-druids-earth-centered-groups-get-outdoor-chapel-at-air-force-academy/