SEDER OLAM - Revisited

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Creation

Generations  1-14

Generations 15-21

Generations 22-28

Generations 29-35

Generations 36-49

Generation 50

Year 5760 – 2000 CE – The 49th Generation

With the 49th Generation, the world has entered the last generation before the ultimate 50th Jubilee of generations that will mark the start of the Messianic era. This ultimate period will open from Hebrew year 5880 (equivalent to 2120 CE). The 49th Generation is thus to be understood as Pre-Messianic era, and world events unfold to confirm it.

This 49th Generation is the 7th set of 7 Generations, and the importance of the number 7 has been explained throughout this site. As a reminder, it has been explained at the time of the Exodus (click here for more information), in the 21st Generation (also a multiple of 7), to show that there is a recurrent pattern of divine intervention towards mankind, and in particular towards the Jewish people, at every return of a Sabbatical "generation" (by Sabbatical "generation", we mean a generation which is a multiple of the number 7). And these Sabbatical generations thus far have been the following ones:

-            7th generation:  death of Cain, as promised by God, and start of a new era of mankind with the Bronze Age
-          14th generation:  the Flood, as the eradication of evil on Earth, and re-start of the Creation with new rules
-          21st generation:  the accomplishment of the divine Covenant with the Exodus of the Hebrews and their establishment in the Promised Land
-          28th generation:  the redemption of the Israelites after their captivity in Babylon, and the construction of the 2nd Temple
-          35th generation:  end of the Jewish political nation at the hand of the Romans, and completion of the Talmud; the Israelites become a spiritual nation
-          42nd generation: strenghening of the Jewish spiritual nation in the Diaspora (Zohar, Maimonides, Nahmanides), thus preparing for the future redemption
-          49th generation:  final return to Sion and pre-Messianic times

The 49th Generation is thus the last Sabbatical generation before the Jubilee of Mankind (the 50th "Messianic" generation), similarly to the fact that a 49th year is always the Sabbatical year (7 x 7 years) prior to a Jubilee year (the 50th year).

Year 5760 – 2000 CE – The pre-Messianic signs

In the years of the 49th Generation, and before leading to the venue of Messiah, the human society will lose its foundations and its faith will regress. It will be a time when there would be plenty for the world to enjoy and yet the world will enjoy nothing:

Thus has Rabbi Johanan said: "In the generation when the son of David [i.e., Messiah] will come, scholars will be few in number, and as for the rest, their eyes will fail through sorrow and grief. Multitudes of trouble and evil decrees will be promulgated anew, each new evil coming with haste before the other has ended."

[...]

It has been taught: Rabbi Nehorai said: "In the generation when Messiah comes, young men will insult the old, and old men will stand before the young [to give them honour]; daughters will rise up against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. The people shall be dog-faced, and a son will not be abashed in his father's presence."
It has been taught, Rabbi Nehemiah said: "In the generation of Messiah's coming impudence will increase, esteem be perverted, the vine yield its fruit, yet shall wine be dear, and the Kingdom will be converted to heresy with none to rebuke them."
This supports Rabbi Isaac, who said: "The son of David will not come until the whole world is converted to the belief of the heretics." Raba said: "What verse [proves this]? It is all turned white: he is clean. [Leviticus 13:13]

--- Talmud, Sanhedrin, 97a

How true this situation is compared to the times that we experience today, with a decay of traditional society values (education, parenting, politics, etc.), the succession of global world crisis (finance, food, war on terror) and the increase of conflicts that they cause? Ironically the world has a crisis of food supply at the same time that it has never enjoyed so much food supply compared to previous decades and centuries. As for the regression of the morale in society, it is no secret that churches are more and more deserted, that the Arab nations are experiencing a so-called "Arab Spring" with the awakening of the masses after years of bigotry imposed by corrupt dictators, and that the Jews face an unprecedented risk of absorption (assimilation) in other cultures.

Year 5760 – 2000 CE – The land of milk and honey

During the years when the Jews were out of the land, it laid waste and desolated for centuries. Many travellers of the past have confirmed the poor state in which the Promised Land remained (to read, as an example, the testimonial from Mark Twain, click here). However, as soon as the Jews started to return, the land started to produce, the swamps that covered the land for centuries finally dried out, and cities were raised from the sands.


In the current times, with the help of technological advance, the land produces about everything in abundance. And in this 49th Generation, it will produce even more before because it is similar to a Sabbatical year, when the land previously produced more than the normal annual amount (so that no harvest would be performed during a Sabbatical year in order to give the land its "rest"). Today the land of Israel has become a large producer of milk and honey, thus accomplishing the Biblical promise:

But I have said unto you: 'You shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

--- Leviticus 20:24

Concerning milk, Israel's dairy cows are the most productive dairy cows in the world. They produce an average 11700 liters of milk per cow per year, compared to 9678 for American cows, 8699 for Canadian cows, 7849 for British cows, 5728 for Australian cows and 3003 for Chinese cows.[5a] No wonder why, in May 2014, China has taken a controlling stake in one of the largest dairy producer in Israel, the company Tnuva.[5b] And the production numbers will be on the increase in this 49th generation.

What about honey? God stated to the Israelites in the desert seven species of products that they will easily obtain from the land:

A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey.

--- Deuteronomy 8:8

But the above-mentioned honey cannot possibly be produced by animals (bees), as it must refer to a honey produced from the land itself. This honey, in Biblical times and still today, is in fact "date honey" or date syrup (called Silan in Hebrew, סילאן) and date trees are indeed very abundant in Israel, even in the desert of the Negev.[5c]

Beyond these natural products, Israel is also achieving energy independence in these times: natural gas has been found off its shores in the Mediterranean Sea, electricity is produced by burning gas, and water is now produced in abundance from desalination plants. This may even make Israel a potential exporter of gas and water in the future. Water, in particular, is a dear necessity in many poorer parts of the world. If the world would be at peace with Israel and spending money in water production rather than in military equipment,[5d] the shortage of clean water would be a plague of the past !!! 

Although very small in size and in population compared to the rest of the world, the Jewish state has also contributed to many other improvements that can be experienced by most citizens of the world in many aspects of their day to day life: 


This situation is an echo to a very ancient promise made by God to the Israelites before they enter Canaan and after predicting their sins, the subsequent exiles, and the final ingathering:


By looking at these achievements, and many more which are less known, one can only recall God's promise to Abraham:

"And in your seed [the Hebrews] shall all the nations of the Earth be blessed; because you have hearkened to My voice."

--- Genesis 22:18

Year 5760 – 2000 CE – The Jews in the world

After the death of about six million European Jews during the Holocaust, the Jewish population has drastically evolved geographically. The European Jewry has regressed in number since 1945, mostly due to assimilation, while the Jewish population has been steadily on the increase in the State of Israel.


At the beginning of the current 49th Generation, about 85% of the world's Jewish population live in Israel or in North America while European Jewry only represents about 7% of the total. In about year 2017, based on the birth date in Israel and assimilation in Diaspora, it is expected that over 50% of the Jewish population will be living in Israel.

In a recent report of June 2015, the world Jewish population is estimated at 14.2 million, of which 6.1 million live in Israel (43% of world Jewry as of early 2015).[7a] In April 2017 [7b], the number raised to 6.5 million in Israel with apparently the same 43% ratio of the worldwide figure (which seems doubtful though, as the population growth is higher in Israel).

Year 5760 – 2000 CE – The ingathering of the Jewish people

The return of the Jews to Sion in the years before and after 1948 (creation of the State of Israel) is a clear sign that the world has entered the pre-Messianic times. This ingathering being a prelude to the venue of the Messiah is echoed in multiple passages of the Scriptures:

I will bear you on the wings of eagles and bring you unto Myself.

--- Exodus 19:4

"With your sweet savour will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries wherein you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I lifted up My hand to give unto your fathers. And there shall you remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed."

--- Ezekiel 20:41-43

And I will let you find Me, said the Lord, and I turn your captivity, and gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, said the Lord; and I will bring you back unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

--- Jeremiah 29:14

Behold, I bring them [the remants of Israel] from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together; a great company shall they return hither.

--- Jeremiah 31:7

"I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will render them all as sheep in a fold; as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men."

--- Micah 2:12 

Many Jews who live in Israel today are descendants from European Jews who came after the Holocaust, having lost about everything (families, homes, cultural centers, etc.) But the majority of the Jews of Israel nowadays are issued from parents who were forced out of Arab countries since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. By expelling their Jews, the Arab nations have de facto contributed to the prophetised ingathering of the Jews in the Promised Land.[4] 

The ingathering of the Jews is however not enough for the Messianic times to come : unity must also prevail.

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: "Gather yourselves ( הֵאָסְפוּ), that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. Group yourselves together (הִקָּבְצוּ ), and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father."

--- Genesis 49:1-2

The call from Jacob to his sons on his deathbed is clear that two conditions must prevail: gather and group together.

Year 5760 – 2000 CE – Islam and Israel

The current era is marked by the conflict between the Arab nations and the State of Israel, and this conflict affects the Jews in the Diaspora as well. The return of the Jews to their ancestral homeland is not happening without causing obvious problems with the peoples who had settled in that land in the meantime. But this situation is not different from the one that took place at the time of Zerubbabel when the Samaritans and other people who occupied the Judean land after the Assyrian conquest had resisted the return of the Jews from Babylone or Persia to Sion. They complained against the Jews to the ruling authorities, first to the Persian kings who ordered to stop the reconstruction of the Temple of Jerusalem for several years (to recall it, click here), and second to the Greek conquerors who initially thought of annihilating the Jewish nation (to recall it, click here). And similarly today the Arab nations want to ostracize the State of Israel in the higher authorities (the United Nations organizations). History invariably repeats itself... 

The Arab-Israeli conflict stems from the fact that the Arab world, in its majority, refuses the right for Jews to have their own state in their ancestral land, claiming that this land has been ruled by Muslim nations for several centuries, which is true. Yet, this rejection has not always been the case. Indeed, in the early days of the conquests of the Jihad or by Saladin as well, the Muslim leaders authorized the Jews to return to Judea and even to the Holy City of Jerusalem despite the remonstrances from the Christian religious authorities who wished to prolong the ban that the Romans imposed in their times against such return. Furthermore the Prophet Muhammad actually favoured the return of Jews to their ancestral land, rather than them remaining in the Arabian Peninsula. On this matter, the Koran states the following verses:

Sura 2:47, repeated again in Sura 2:122 - O Children of Israel, remember My favor that I have bestowed upon you and that I preferred you over the worlds.

Sura 2:122: And We did certainly give Moses the Torah and followed up after him with messengers [prophets, Jesus, Muhammad].

Sura 5:20-21 - And, when Moses said to his people, "O my people, remember the favour of Allah upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds. O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back and thus become losers.

Sura 45:16 - And We did certainly give the Children of Israel the Scripture and judgement and prophethood, and We provided them with good things and preferred them over the worlds.

Sura 26:59 - And We made it [the Holy Land] an inheritance for the Children of Israel.

Sura 17:104 - And We said after Pharaoh to the Children of Israel, "Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering."

--- Extracts from the Koran, using online resource

Some Muslim scholars have explained these passages by stating that the Promised Land was taken away from Jews because of their sin of the golden calf at Mount Sinai, and that the above Sura concerning the promise of Allah to give them the land had been abbrogated ! Yet the assumption that a word from the prophet can be abbrogated is not written in the Koran: the text does however mention that the Israelites were punished by not being allowed to enter the Promised Land for forty years, which is correct as it was already known from the Bible. Also the argument makes no sense regarding the golden calf because Allah/God allowed the Jews to enter the land 40 years after the golden calf... so this sin cannot be used to state that the Jews lost their divine inheritance. Besides, the Koran is very specified on this: Enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you clearly alludes to a permanent divine decree.[1a]

One of the greatest Muslim scholar of all times, Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328 CE) who is known as Sheikh ul-Islam, declared the following concerning the assumed "holiness" of the city of Jerusalem and of its mosques on the Temple Mount:

In Jerusalem there is no sacred place [for Muslims], and the same is true for the tombs of Hebron.

--- Matthews, Charles D. , "A Muslim Iconoclast (Ibn Taymiyyeh) on the 'Merits' of Jerusalem and Palestine", Journal of the American Oriental Society, volume 56 (1935), pp. 1–21

Another point regarding the Koran is that one of the most cited characters is... Moses (called Musa) ![1c] This denotes the importance of the existence of the Jews in the world, as they are the validation of the One God and of His Scripture. Without the Jews and their sacred Torah, Islam would have neither started nor prospered.
 
Sadly, unlike the Jews who are encouraged to study the Torah, the majority of Muslims do not actually read their own sacred book, the Koran, but rather rely on religious leaders (imams, ayatollahs) to preach politically motivated tales to them. Worse, Arab countries teach their young children in schools to hate Jews and that they should not rest until all Jews of the world are dead. But the fact remains that, in the own words of Allah/God, the land of Israel belongs to the Jews, and this should be understood as a true decree for all those who follow Judaism, Christianity or Islam.

Let's also remind that, in order to prevent the Jews from claiming future rights on Jerusalem, one caliph had built a mosque on top of the Temple Mount. This can only cause a curse upon all Muslims.[1b] The more they would attempt to prevent the Jews from achieving their return to Sion, as explicitely mentioned by the scriptures of all three monotheist religions, the more they will be cursed for not adhering to their own scripture. The day Muslims would realize their mistake and, instead, would seek true peace with the Jews in Israel, the era of blessings will come back to all the Muslims and to Islam as well. The Golden Age of Islam only happened when they showed not only tolerance towards the Jews but even allowed them to establish themselves in their Promised Land in these times. Indeed, at the time of the early Ottoman rule, Jews were allowed back into what they called the 4 "holy cities": Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, Tiberias. The ruler who authorized the Jews to return to Sion enjoyed a happy reign (1520-1566) and was nicknamed Soliman the Magnificent. This is reflected in the last two verses of the first chapter of the Koran:

Sura 1:6-7 - Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of thoses who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.
--- Extracts from the Koran, using online resource

And who are those upon whom You have bestowed favour if not the Jews, Children of Israel, as clearly stated in Sura 2:47 and Sura 2:122? This Sura 1:6-7 thus tells Muslims to look upon Jews as guidance. There is religious and historical destiny for the Jews to return to Sion. Christians and Muslims have their destinies and roles in mankind, and so do the Jews. If there was no divine destiny for the Jews to return to Sion, or if Allah wanted the State of Israel to be destroyed, why does He allow this Jewish state to survive at all and not make the Muslim armies victorious? The Muslim's answer to this question is in the Koran, Sura 5:21: O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you...

Some Muslim scholars have however understood this truth and, although being in a minority, they have expressed their opinion on this important Muslim dilemma: 

If Muslims must choose, we must believe more in Islam than in Palestine. [...] Should Palestine one day not exist, the Palestinian will always be able to be Muslim and so too, his child. [...] In contrast, without modern Israel, Jews may indeed, one fearful day, become permanently lost to us. Without Israel, there is no Jewish nation. [...] For the Palestinian, there is always a place in a billion-strong Ummah, even our Prophet Mohammed himself was the prototypical Muslim migrant. But for the Jew, there is no such luxury. There is only Israel. If we care for wider humanity at all, we must all be 'accidental' Zionists and want for the Jews, for the Israelis, what each Muslim already has for themselves: a future, a nation and a faith, secured.

--- Dr Ahmed Qanta, article in the Huffington Post, 2010

Year 5760 – 2000 CE – The "Exile of Ishmael"

The conflict between Jews and Muslims represent what Jewish Tradition calls the Exile of Ishmael, which is the fifth and last "exile" that the Jews must endure before the venue of the Messiah.

What is different about this exile compared to the four previous exiles (Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman/Christian)? The author of the Zohar had stated very long time ago (even before Islam even existed) that the descendance of Ishmael has earned merit in the eyes of God, because he was Abraham's first beloved son and because, unlike any other people, his descendance has at least maintained the most important covenant between God and Abraham, the circumcision, even if the circumcision commandment was corrupted at the time of Islam (changed from the prescribed 8 days to the 13 years of age). This is what the Zohar had to say about the matter:


It seems that the time stated until the merit of the children of Ishmael shall have become exhausted refers to the year 1917 as Muslim rule effectively ended over the Holy Land when a British corps entered Jerusalem. It is worth noting that Christianity, in contrast, although it stemmed from Jews who kept the Law (Torah), has totally deviated from the Law, not keeping even one single commandment from it. This situation is even in contradiction with the Gospel of Matthew who stated Jesus' own words during the Sermon of the Mount about this matter:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

--- New Testament, Matthew 5:17-18

The fact is that Christians did not follow the words of Jesus, as Matthew noted them, while the Muslims at least kept the key commandment of the patriarch's Covenant with God.

There are about 1300 years from the time of the revelation of Muhammed, marking the start of common religion for the children of Ishmael, and the year 1917. These 1300 years correspond to the 13 years before a Muslim boy gets circumcised. Or, from another point of view, if we count 1300 years from the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims in 638 CE, it brings us to year 1938 which marks the start of the unfolding of events that led to the return of Jews in their ancestral land. Indeed, in 1938, Jabotinsky went on tour in Europe to convince the Jews to return and warned them of the catastrophe that would fall on them otherwise, but his warnings fell on deaf ears (to read about it, click here). And then later in that same year, there was Kristallnacht which made it clear that he was right. But, by then, the doors of the return to Sion were already closed and the Jews were trapped in Europe. Nonetheless that single year 1938 was the one that changed the spirit of the European Jews who would take the first opportunity, in later years when they could again do it, to effect their return.

The sentence they will prevent Israel from returning to their own land is a clear reference to what has happened since 1917: the Arab world has rejected many attempts to find a peaceful solution to the immigration of Jews back to their ancestral land. A 2000-year old midrash has even been more precise about predicting their actions in the end of days:

Rabbi Ishmael said : In the future the children of Ishmael will do fifteen things in the land (of Israel) in the latter days, and they are : They will measure the land with ropes; they will change a cemetery into a resting-place for sheep (and) a dunghill; they will measure with them and from them upon the tops of the mountains; falsehood will multiply and truth will be hidden; the statutes will be removed far from Israel; sins will be multiplied in Israel; worm-crimson will be in the wool, and he will decay with insects paper and pen; he will hew down the rock of the kingdom, and they will rebuild the desolated cities and sweep the ways; and they will plant gardens and parks, and fence in the broken walls of the Temple; and they will build a building in the Holy Place; and two brothers will arise over them, princes at the end; and in their days the Branch, the Son of David, will arise, as it is said, (Daniel 2:44) 'And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.'

--- Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 30

 
This text has been composed about 2000 years ago as it is attributed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Orkenos, a tanna. What did he mean by the above expressions? The "children of Ishmael" are obviously the Arab world. They will persecute the Jews in the end of days, in many ways:

 - measure the land with ropes: they will argue about the ownership of the land inch by inch

- change a cemetery into a resting-place for sheep (and) a dunghill: they had transformed the old Jewish cemetery of the Mount of Olives as a land for their sheep, and the passage to the Western Wall as a dunghill (the gate of the city leading to the Western Wall had also been called the Dung Gate)

- they will measure with them and from them upon the tops of the mountains: in the ancient times: the tops of the mountains (or hills) were all Jewish villages, which were taken over by Muslims to build their villages over the centuries

- falsehood will multiply and truth will be hidden: they tried to change History by claiming that the Temple Mount never had a Jewish temple, or that Jesus was a "Palestinian" (to read this statement made on Christmas 23 December 2013, click here); this is an historical non-sense because (a) the Gospels clearly explained that Jesus was actually a practising Jew, and (b) the word "Palestine" was re-invented by the Romans after the Bar-Kochba revolt, thus about 100 years after Jesus' crucifixion; they also accused the Jews of all sorts of falsehoods such as responsability for 9/11 or for Arafat's death and so on

- the statutes will be removed far from Israel: for centuries they prevented the Jews to settle in their ancestral land (lately during the 400 years of Ottoman regime), but they allowed non-local to settle instead (in the 19th century, Druzes, and Muslims from Egypt and North Africa were allowed to populate the Holy Land; they also brought in people from as far as Turkmenistan and Bosnia); by the 20th century, the Arabs then claimed that the Jews were few in the land, but forgot to mention that it is the Arabs who prevented their return !

- sins will be multiplied in Israel: the establishment of the State of Israel was done by secular groups for the vast majority; at the beginning of the State, Ben-Gurion once mentioned that there were just 5000 religious Jews (he surely meant "black hat" Hasidim) in the country

- worm-crimson will be in the wool, and he will decay with insects paper and pen: when it will be in the hands of the land will be in a state of decay and nothing will prosper; this was indeed the situation of the Holy Land as witnessed by hundreds of Western travellers (including Mark Twain) in the 19th century for example
 
- he will hew down the rock of the kingdom: this refers to the building of the Dome of the Rock in 698 CE, many years after this midrash was composed or compiled; they  built the Dome of the Rock and the El-Aqsa mosque on top of the Jewish Temple Mount (at the time it was done by political motives made up with a religious fable that had no supportive evidence from the Koran)

- they will rebuild the desolated cities and sweep the ways: when the Muslims took the land, they used the stones of these villages and built their own villages on top of the ancient ones, thus covering any trace of historical identification; this happened for example in the City of David, that included the tombs of the Kings of Judah, which was defaced by the Arabs who built habitations on top of it, and covered up all the ancient structures; it also happened in the ancient Sepphoris (Tsipori, capital of the Galilee in Roman times, and birth-place of Mary mother of Jesus) where the Arabs built their own village on top of it; in fact, all ancient Jewish villages of Judah and Samaria have been covered by Arab villages; sometimes they kept some form of the original name and this helped the later excavations (from the 19th century) identify the correct locations

- they will plant gardens and parks, and fence in the broken walls of the Temple: they have built all around the ancient Second Temple, or rather the Western Wall that remained from it since the Romans destroyed it in 70 CE; it was only in 1967 that Israel recovered ownership on their ancient Temple and cleared the way from Arab habitations that obstructed access to the Western Wall; at the beginning of the Ottoman period, they also rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem

- and they will build a building in the Holy Place: this is referring to the Dome of the Rock; it is worth reminding that this text has been composed some 600 years before the Dome of the Rock was erected !

- and two brothers will arise over them, princes at the end; and in their days the Branch, the Son of David, will arise: this is referring to pre-Messianic times, when there will be a fight between two factions of Ishmael over who will rule in the land; this may be pointing to the current struggle between two factions of the Palestinian entities, one called Fatah which is sponsored by Sunni Islam, an the other called Hamas which is sponsored by Shia Islam (Iran) although being Sunni itself (hence the two brothers)

And indeed the children of Ishmael have created the ultimate trouble to the children of Israel. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Arab world has initiated several conflicts to try destroy the Jewish entity:


After each war, the number of belligerants against Israel has actually reduced, to the point that the only direct belligerants today are at the doorstep of Israel and are composed of radical Muslim groups affiliated with global Jihad (Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other ones).

But, as the same text puts it, God will be the ultimate rescue to His people in the end of days:

Six individuals have received their name before they were born: Isaac, Ishmael, our master Moses, Solomon, Josias, and the Messiah king. [...] How dowe know it for Ishmael? It is said: "And the angel of the Lord said unto her [Hagar, the maid-servant of Abraham]: 'Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.'" (Genesis 16:11). And why was he named Ishmael? Because, in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will hear the clamor of the who will be oppressed by the children of Ishmael. So he is named Ishmael, as it is said: "God shall hear and humble them." (Psalms 55:20)

--- Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 32

The above text mentions that the children of Ishmael will be the last oppressors of the children of Israel, who will ultimately call upon their Lord for help, and He will hear them. The name Ishmael does not mean the Lord has heard (the past tense would have been ShamaEl) but instead it means the Lord will hear (the future tense is IshmaEl). So the name Ishmael applies not to the children of Ishmael but to the children of Israel who will rise their clamor to the Lord.

Year 5762 – 2001 CE – Year of Jubilee

The date of 11 September 2001 was marked by the terror attack on the US cities of New York and Washington, with four airplanes that were hijacked by Islamist terrorists and directed to crash on public buildings in these cities. The date in Hebrew calendar was 23 Elul 5761, a week short before the start of the new year 5762 AM. It seems that the author of the Zohar had even predicted such event:

While some of these things were fulfilled at that time and some later, while some are left for the Messiah. We have learnt that God will one day build Jerusalem and display a certain fixed star flashing with seventy streamers and seventy flames in the midst of the firmament, and it will shine and flash for seventy days. It will appear on the sixth day of the week on the 25th [day] of the sixth month, and will disappear on the 7th day after seventy days. On the first day it will be seen in the city of Rome, and on that day three lofty walls of that city shall fall and a mighty palace shall be overthrown, and the ruling of that city shall die. Then that star will be visible throughout the whole world. In that time mighty wars will arise in all quarters of the world, and no faith shall be found among men. 

--- Zohar, Balak 212b

The sixth month is the month of Elul, starting from Nisan being the first month. As the 25th day of a month can never fall on the 6th day (Erev Shabbat) of a week, some commentators have explained that the text of the Zohar was referring to the 23rd day and not the 25th day. And this explains the three lofty walls of that city will fall as the attack on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagone building in Washington DC, Rome being a reference to the Western world in general. The attack will change the way the world would look at America (the modern Rome) and will no longer considered it as invincible, thus saying the ruling of that city shall die.

Coincidentally, the year 5761 was the year that ended seven cycles of Sabbatical years since the adoption of the year 1952 as the first Sabbatical year since the creation of the State of Israel. There are indeed 49 years between 1952 and 2001, thus seven Sabbatical cycles of seven years each. So the end of these seven cycles was marked by the attack on the USA, and the new year 5762 opened the era of the so-called War on Terror, which saw the Western world waging war against Islamist militancy, with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq notably. The term "War on Terror" was used by the US President Bush for the first time publicly on 20 September 2001 (3 Tishri 5762). The star mentioned in the Zohar may refer to the rise of Jihadist movements (Al-Qaeda, etc.) whose actions will be visible throughout the whole world. This star will shine and flash for at least 70 days, which may refer to years of intermittent ordeals it will create in the world, thus ending not earlier than year 2072 CE (5832 AM). The seventy streamers and seventy flames in the midst of the firmament may refer to the 70 nations of the Biblical world, thus saying the ordeal will affect the entire world. Strangely this passage of Zohar is in Balak 212b, and 212 is the area code of New York in the telephone directory.

But, as a reminder, this cycle of Sabbatical and Jubilee was reset from the year 1952, so there are counts related to the modern Israel timecycle (for more information, click here). But, counting from the time when the cycles were first established in the land of Canaan, following Joshua's conquest, the count started in year 2500 AM. So the next Jubilee years according to that original count will be the years 5800 AM (66th Jubilee in year 2040 CE), 5850 AM (67th Jubilee in year 2090 CE), and so on. But this original count was abolished with the destruction of the Second Temple. So it makes sense to arbitrarily adopt a new starting point from the creation of the State of Israel, after the return of the Jews to Sion.

This terrorist attack can be considered as the turning point when the world started to realise that there was an Islamist problem, and as a result started to engage against the Muslims who were suspected of deaaling with Terror. This situation echoes the very ancient predictions that were told to Sarah, the mother of Ishmael, before his birth:

And he [Ishmael] shall be a wild ass of a man: his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the face of all his brethren.

--- Genesis 16:12

Furthermore, the Zohar even mentioned the name of the person who is associated with this change of the world, when the forces of radical Islam started to become of concern for the world. Indeed, a parabole commenting on II Samuel 23:20 (also in I Chronicles 11:22), he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow, using the image of animals mentions the following:

All the dogs kept themselves out of sight, fearing to venture abroad. But when sin prevailed, He descended to the regions here below and slew that lion [which was keeping the prey of the Temple for himself], not desiring any more to provide his portion as formerly. He, as it were, slew him: "He smote the lion", most assuredly, "into the pit", that is to say, in the sight of the "evil monster". The same evil monster, seeing this, sent a dog to consume the offerings. The name of the lion is Orie-l (אוריא"ל), as his face is that of a lion [Arieh in Hebrew], and the name of the dog is Bel-adan (בלאדן) [not-man], for it is not a man at all, but a dog and has the face of a dog.

--- Zohar, Prologue 6b

The word Beladan is formed of Bal to mean Not, and Adam to mean man but with the change of the last letter from M to N. We can find this same sort of corruption of letter (M to N) in other texts, such as the famous one of Talmud Esther about GERMAMIA to really mean GERMANIA as the cause of the Holocaust. It is striking that, in the case of this text from the Zohar, the name of the terrorist, Bin Laden, was inferred to some 2000 years before he came to existence. 


The interpretation of this obscure passage from the Zohar can be as follows. After the destruction of the Temple, Rome (the Western civilisation) had the upper hand on the matters of the world, and kept this as a lion keeps its own prey. It is also the West that has given to the Jews the right to return to their land. But, then, the West weakened. As soon as the Axis of Evil (the "evil monster" mentioned in the Zohar) saw this happening, it wanted to take the portion that the lion kept and, for this purpose, sent the dog called Bin-Laden to shaken the lion's confidence. Since that moment, the descendance of Ishmael has risen in the world and there will be no way of stopping it until the time of the Messiah. Unlike other nations who wanted to convert Jews into their laws and religion, Ishmael's goal is to kill all the Jews and eradicate the name of Israel. Even King David, who dwelt with the Philistines, later regretted it:

Woe is me, that I sojourn with Meshech, that I dwell beside the tents of Kedar!

My soul has full long had her dwelling with him that has peace.

I am all peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

--- Psalms, 120:5-7

Year 5769 – 2009 CE – Birth of the Messiah

For some Jewish scholars, the Messiah came to existence in the decade starting in 5760 (in Hebrew it is year תש''ס where the letter ס means סוף --end), which could be any year up to the end of that decade, in year 5769 AM (or 2009 CE). Of course, the time of his revelation to the world is not set yet and is not known to any human being. Let's recall that Moses was revealed to his people as their leader to redemption from slavery at the age of 80. This belief about the birth of Messiah is corroborated with the fact that, every time in Jewish History, when evil or good is about to happen, the contrary is also born to be a response to it. Here, when the Muslims rose against Edom in 2001, the seed of Messiah has come to life in the same time or decade.

Year 5769 – 2009 CE – The era of Obama

On that same year, a man of African origin, Barack Obama, became President of the USA for the first time in the history of that major world power. Since his election however, instead of bringing a wave of new hopes and reduction of conflicts in human societies, the world has witnessed a number of political disruptions and a sharper rise of Terror. The following Proverb may have applied to this era:

The Earth quakes... when a "slave" reigns...
--- Proverbs 30:21-22

The word 'slave' can be understood both ways. First as a descendant of Ham, because Ham had been cursed by his father Noah to be a 'slave' for his brothers. And, second, "slave" simply as "servant", meaning a person who had no importance or unknown before he came to public light. If we look at Jewish history, who were the people associated with the most evil done to the Jews? It started with Nimrod 3800 years ago who, at the time of Abraham, had caused the first massive wars between city states and the construction of the Tower of Babel to defy God (to read about Nimrod, click here). And Nimrod had Ham as an ancestor and he nearly destroyed Abraham, the only man who walked in God's way. Then, next, came Jeroboam, the son of a servant to King Solomon, who ultimately caused the kingdom of the Israelites to split into two, and who ruled over 10 out of 12 Tribes of Israel (in the so-called Kingdom of Israel). Then came Aman, the obscure minister of Ahasuerus who suddenly, out of nowhere, became his first vizier and aimed to destroy the Jewish people. Who's next? Hitler, who was the son of a maid, also of obscure family origin, and who drove the world into the catastrophic WW-II and caused the Holocaust for the Jewish people. Is Obama the next "slave" who will make "the Earth quake"? For sure he seems to be driving the world to catastrophe and the Jewish State to be side-lined among the nations.

Year 5774 – 2014 CE – Russia takes over Crimea

The Crimea peninsula has become part of Russia on 16 March 2014 (Purim 5774) following a referendum. On his deathbed, the Vilna Gaon had declared to his followers:

When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard. And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople [today’s Istanbul], you should put on your Shabbat clothes and don’t take them off, because it means that the Messiah is about to come any minute.

--- Vilna Gaon's prophecy, for more details, click here 

Many people thus believe that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, who wanted to be part of the European Union, is another significant sign of the prelude to Messianic times.

The immediate result of this conflict is that the West has created a divide with Russia who, in turn, decided to cut commercial ties with the West and already announced that, if the West would press against Russia, Russia will change its foreign policy with a shift towards support of Iran and their nuclear program. The same Vilna Gaon, who lived at an age where weapons were not of the nature of mass destruction as they have become today, had also told his followers that the last war will last 9 minutes ! Nobody could possibly comprehend that a war of his times would last so short a time, but today we can well understand that nuclear weapons could achieve this prophecy. 

Year 5774 – 2014 CE – Attack on Israel

The recent decade has witnessed continuous attacks from the Gaza Strip to Israel, through the means of rockets and missiles. In this conflict, in July 2014, about 3000 rockets have been fired to Israel, especially in the Southern part of the country. Below is a map of the places where these rockets were directed on the single morning of 23 July 2014:


The defense system used by Israel against this aerial attack is called Kipat Barzel, which is commonly translated in English as Iron "Dome" but, in Hebrew, it really means an Iron "Yarmulke". A yarmulke in itself is nothing but a material piece, but it has the spiritual significance to connect with God. Similarly the Iron Dome, although being very efficient materially, only stops about 25% of the rockets, and doesn't prevent anyway the rocket debris from falling from the skies and hit at urban zones and populations. And yet, there has been nearly no casualty from such attacks and debris, as if God indeed protected His people. Even one Muslim militant seemed to believe that there must be some divine protection which he thinks is the only explanation for such few casualties upon Israel:

Year 5775 – 2015 CE – The turning point

The year 5775 AM will be a special year because of the numbers making that year, with use of 5 and 7, both related to God, so this is what will make it special. Special doesn't necessarily mean good. But it means significant for the course of the world and of Israel. Already the past combinations of the numbers 5 and 7 in the making of the year brought special milestones, all related to the return to Sion or ingathering of the Jews in their ancestral land. For example, the years 5557, 5575 and 5577 mark the turning point when Jews of Eastern Europe started to be divided between the return to Sion (especially after the death of the Vilna Gaon who promoted such return) or the embrace the offered emancipation, despite the anger of the Gentiles in these early times. The indirect result of this only came to light years later with the success of the Jews in business, culture, academia, and so on, which consequently caused the rise of antisemitism in Europe, the pogroms in Russia, and ultimately the Holocaust in the very country which offered emancipation first. All these events pushed the Jews to desire their own homeland and the world nations to agree to their return in their ancestral land of Sion. Then, closer to our times, the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister Rabin in year 5755 marked the end of the peace process in the Middle-East and  the year 5757 witnessed a turn in world affairs that also affected the State of Israel and the Jewish people of the Diaspora (with more aggressions and unwelcoming policies against them).

What is special in 5775 AM?

For the first time in their long history, since the destruction of the Second Temple and the forced exile by the Romans, the majority of the Jews of the world will actually live in their ancestral land, Israel. Indeed the demographics statistics show that Israel hosted about 45% of the world Jewish population in year 2012, but, with a higher birth rate in Israel and a great assimilation rate in the Diaspora, as well as some immigration from the Diaspora to Israel, it is likely that the Jewish population of Israel will have passed over the 50% of the world number by the time of the next world statistics. In September 2014, it was announced by the Israeli population was just about 8.3 million people, of which 75% are Jewish.

The year 5775 AM is also special because it is a Sabbatical year, for both the count since Joshua's time (it is the 278th Sabbatical year from that time, within the 66th Jubilee count) and for the count from Israel's counting in 1952 (the year 2015 CE will mark the 9th Sabbatical year since 1952). And because the number 5775 can be divided by 7, this year is also the 825th Sabbatical from the Creation, if we do not count the Jubilee cycles (meaning that, after 49 years, the 50th restarts a Sabbatical rather than being the Jubilee year).

How the year 5775 will translate its special case into world affairs is still unknown. But we can already witness a much harder line taken by the conflicts opposing the Western civilization with the Muslims, especially about the so-called Islam State (IS). So the likely scenario will be that, after first apparent successes of the Western world against IS in the Middle-East, there will be a backlash that will hit the Western nations directly at their core from militants or supporters enrolled in the support of IS. The circumstances that unleash in year 5757 when one Jihadi group (the Talibans) took control of one country (Afghanistan) and from which they launched terror attacks in the Western world is about to be repeated, in much worse, in year 5775.


Nuclear era?
As of the summer 2015/5775, the world has just signed a deal with Iran that will allow them to continue develop nuclear capability and will unlock funds that were frozen and estimated to over 100 Billion US dollars. The issue is that Iran is a Shiite state (the biggest one) and is therefore viewed by the rest of Muslim world, which is 90% Sunni, as 'heretic'. The major Sunni state, Saudi Arabia, had already stated that if Iran would be afforded nuclear capability, they too will get it. So, this year 2015 marks the turning point from a world which had the nuclear power since the summer 2015 (Hiroshima bombing) but it remained at the hands of 'responsible' states, and a world today where the nuclear power will reach all other states on the planet, whether they are fanatical, extremist, dictatorial states. There are exactly 70 years between the summer 1945 and the summer 2015. As we have seen in this web site, 70 is also a turning point, marked by the Redemption era (it started at the time when then exile of Babylon ended). Besides, both circumstances involve Iran/Persia because the end of the exile of Babylon was triggered by the invasion of Persia into Babylon and the subsequent Cyrus declaration. In our times, 70 years could indeed mark the start of the ultimate Redemption, the Messianic times. Future will tell.


Muslims migrate to Europe
In the summer of 2015, the numbers of migrants to the European Union from Muslim countries at war has drastically increased. The number of them since the beginning of that year until September was of about half a million, for those who could be accounted. Many others managed to cross into Europe before the authorities started to realize there was a major issue. This is the largest migrant crisis since World War II. It is estimated that about 2% of these migrants are radicalized Muslims who infiltrated into Europe: if true, this would make 10,000 "dormant" terrorists who settled in Europe, ready to be actioned at any time in the future.

Year 5776 – 2015 CE – Russia in the Levant

One indirect result of the migrants crisis is the arrival of Russia in the Levant region, under disguise of helping the Syrian regime of President Assad to fight the threat from Islamist State. As a first step, the Russians have taken control of the main Syrian harbour of Latakia (the ancient Laodicea) with ships and war airplanes, with the intent to supply Assad with modern weaponry (to read a report, click here) The side result of this is that Hezbollah, which was engaged in the Syrian civil war by helping Assad, has declared that they will soon move out of Syrian. As a token of "gratitude", Assad will provide Russian tanks to Hezbollah who, like never before, will build an army within Lebanon, able to topple the virtual democracy in that country and take control. This is what Assad wanted (as Syria could not control Lebanon themselves, their Hezbollah friend is the next best option), and what Iran wanted (Hezbollah is the Shiite militia, so their control will create a Shiite state of Lebanon). It won't take long before the Syrian civil war will spell into Lebanon, precisely as soon as Islamist State will threaten that country (knowing that Russia would be reluctant to act against them in Lebanon, as they will do in Syria). With the presence of Russia in the Levant, we can only recall the prophecy mentioned above (click here).

The next question that comes to mind is: is Russia either Gog or Magog, thus being one of the two last belligerants in the End of Days? Future will tell. In the meantime, another part of the Vilna Gaon's prophecy (see above) is coming up: And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople [Istanbul]... In November 2015, Turkey has shut down a Russian plane and since then tensions are rising between Istanbul and Moscow. 
 

Year 5777 – 2016 CE – The U.N. vote against Israel

The 5777 is a year when Christmas falls on the same day as Hannukah. It should have been a year of joint joy. Yet, two days before the 24th of December, the U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution against Israel. It is no surprise that the U.N. wants to pass such resolutions, as many of them are turned against Israel because this world institution has been taken "hostage" for years by Arab lobby. As a result the U.N. fails to condemn undemocratic and human rights violating regimes but focuses its efforts against Israel. Indeed most of the U.N. resolutions are only directed against Israel and even the present U.N. Secretary General has admitted it in this very time:

'Decades of political maneuvering have created a disproportionate number of resolutions, reports and committees against Israel,' says Ban Ki-moon.

--- The Independent, 16 December 2016 

The vote before Christmas- Hannukah has been made possible because, unlike what happened in the past, the US representative was directed to abstain from preventing this resolution to pass.

Coincidentally or not, the week the resolution passed was the week when the Torah weekly reading portion was Vayislach. In this text, Jacob (Israel) finally returns to the Promised Land after 20 years of exile in Haran (20 years is symbolic to 2000 years of exile) but is confronted by his brother Esau (Edom, the Christian world). Before this encounter that could turn into slaughter for Jacob, the spirit of Esau takes form of an angel who fights Jacob during the entire night, but Jacob survives the ordeal. When Jacob meets Esau the next morning, the encounter is peaceful.

Accompanying this Torah portion comes the Haftarah text which is the short book of Obadiah the Prophet. Why is it related to the above weekly portion? Because Obadiah was a convert from Edom and because his vision is about what will happen to Esau/Edom in the End of Days... The opening of the book is:

The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom: We have heard a message from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations: 'Arise you, and let us rise up against her [Israel] in battle.'

--- Obadiah 1:1

This text reminds of the UN vote situation: an ambassador (of the US) is sent among the nations (the UN institution) to push a vote against Israel. In the final part of the book, Obadiah prophetises that because Esau/Edom did not come to the help of his brother Jacob and rather wished to destroy him, so will God punish Esau/Edom in the End of Days even though he made his nest as high as the eagle's [symbol of the USA and of strong empires in general]. How will this punishment happen? From within...

All the men of your confederation have conducted you to the border [to defend yourself]; the men that were at peace with you have betrayed you, and prevailed against you; they that eat your bread lay a snare under you, and you had no discernment.

--- Obadiah 1:7 

The trouble will come from Teman/Yemen (Obadiah 1:9) which is a reminder of the Muslim world who pushed Edom to this UN resolution and who will finally betray Edom. Obadiah further prophetises:

For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off for ever.

--- Obadiah 1:10

Year 5777 – 2017 CE – The 70 Nations gather against Israel

The year 2017 starts with a conference in Paris expecting to gather "70 Nations" (to read the news, click here). The conference's aim is to restart the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians but neither of them will attend it. Instead, as it can be expected with a large number of nations gathered to decide on anything such as the UN Assembly, observers expect the conference to be nothing more than a repeat of condemnation of Israel as the sole obstacles against peace. Yet Israel has repeatedly stated that it is willing to have face-to-face direct negotiations with the Palestinians, but they have refused to do so, preferring antagonism by raising the rest of the world to support their cause. Why would the Palestinians refuse direct negotiations? Because they already put impossible conditions for "peace" which can be summarized in three points: (1) they want a Palestinian State with no Jew living in it, (2) they agree to a State of Israel living next to them as long as it is not a "Jewish" state, (3) they want the "right to return" to Israel for some 1 million Palestinians. In other words, this is not a roadmap to peace but rather a temporary path to gain back ALL the Land of Israel, first by owning a Jew-free Palestinian State and second by using demographics to eventually overcome the number of Jews in the State of Israel. 

For other observers, the concept of "70 Nations" is anchored in the Bible, and represent "all the nations of the world" besides Israel. In centuries-old beliefs, the whole world will eventually gang up against the Jews (Israel) at the End of Days, before the venue of the Messiah. So this conference, announced as the symbolic "70 Nations" gathering, seems the prelude to the events that will unfold in a not so distant future.

Year 5778 – 2017 CE – USA recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel

On the 6th of December 2017 (which was night time in Israel so equivalent to the start of date 19 Kislev 5778), US President Donald Trump, who also started office in  this special year of 2017, formally accepted the decision of the US Congress passed 22 years before about recognizing Jerusalem as capital of Israel. This decision is historical since he could have used a waiver that all his predecessors have used since this resolution of the Congress. Trump asked his administration to start works for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Some see a pattern in the special years 1917, 1967 and 2017, separated by 50 years one to another (the number of years of a Jubilee), and all with significant impact on Jerusalem: in 1917, the Muslim rule over Jerusalem ended when the British forces took the city; in 1967, the Israeli forces took the Old City of Jerusalem; and in 2017, the most powerful nation accepts that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish State. Is there a new development looming in 2067?

Coincidence or not, a memo was written on the same day of 19 Kislev by Ben-Gurion regarding this issue debated at the Knesset a few days earlier. In this memo, he wrote:

      Israel's position on the question of Jerusalem came to me as clear and final during the Knesset on the 14th of Kislev (5.12.49) by the government and all the factions in the Knesset. Jerusalem is an inseparable part of the State of Israel and its eternal capital. No vote at the UN would change this historical position. Dated: 19 Kislev (10.12.49) --- transcript of the memo below

 
 

Notes:

[1a] This idea is reinforced by the fact that the translated word assigned is actually the word written (as kataba in the text in Arabic), which indeed alludes to a permanent decree

[1b] The same way that the Jews have been cured for deviating from their own sacred book, the Torah, and consequently have suffered divisions which caused their loss of nation and their dispersion in the world; at the beginning of this 49th Generation, the Muslim world has been cursed by the hatred from other nations, the wars between some of their states, the civil wars following the so-called Arab Spring, and there is probably more to come.

[1c] To look at the people mentioned in the Koran, click here ; it is noticed that Moses is mentioned the most often (136 times) while Muhamad in comparison is only mentioned 4 times

[2] The period when the influence of Rome started to be felt by the Jewish nation is generally considered from the time Pompey entered the Temple in 63 BCE; but at that time, the nation was not in fact ruled by Rome, but was initially an ally against the Seleucid kingdom; but the situation rapidly changed during the conflicts of succession among the Hasmonean pretenders; this is when Rome started to impose its will in these disputes, supporting one side against the other, and sending an army commanded by Mark Antony in Judea about 55-52 BCE, precisely 2000 years before the creation of the State of Israel; or, better, the 2000 years are counted from the first years of rule of Herod the Great who owned his crown to his obedience and submission to the Roman Empire; the count of 2000 years from Herod's first years of reign brings us to the year 1967 when the State of Israel took control of the Old City of Jerusalem thus allowing the Jews to finally be able to have access to their holy sites


[4] Most of the Jews expelled from Arab countries after 1948 immigrated to Israel, with the exception of Algerian Jews who left Algeria in 1962 when France abandoned its colony and approved its independance; these Algerian Jews went to France and form today the majority of French Jewry.

[5a] For world statistics by total milk per cow per year in 2011, click here ; this table shows USA with 9678 liters as the #1 producer; but doesn't show result for Israel which produced 11706 liters per cow in 2012 (click here for statistics from Israel)

[5b] To read the announcement, click here

[5c] According to a press report of 2012, Israeli dates have 35% global market share of the best date type called Medjool (to read this report, click here)

[5d] As an example of the wrong priorities the world is taking, Nobel Peace Prize U.S. President Barack Obama approved the sale of military equipment worth 11 Billion dollars to Qatar in the summer 2014; yet Qatar is a country which is not at war with anyone, is not threatened by any neighbour, and is comparable in size to Connecticut in the US or to Yorkshire in England; and it is nobody's secret that Qatar is the financial backer of terror organizations in the region...

[6] To read about the latest condemnation made against Israel by the UNHRC in July 2014, click here ; and for a list of these condemnations since 2006, click here

[7a] To read this report dated 26 June 2015, click here

[7b] and for the April 2017 report, click here