Lee Ardis

The Temple Mount movement braces for its moment

With its activists now sitting in Israel’s government, the once-fringe movement has gained unprecedented influence over the fate of Jerusalem’s holiest site. The next weeks could herald even more danger.

Five young, clay-colored cows touched down at Ben-Gurion Airport in late September, greeted by a joyous gathering of rabbis and well-wishers. Flying cows from the plains of Texas to the Middle East is no easy task, and those waiting to greet the livestock celebrated the success of their years-long effort with a shehecheyanu, the Jewish blessing over something new.

These are no ordinary cows: they are red heifers, and as such any one of them might be the final missing ingredient needed for the coming of the Messiah — at least if you ask the rabbis who came to greet them. All of the rabbis are part of the Temple Mount movement, a loose coalition of groups and individuals working to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem where the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque currently stand, and in so doing usher in the messianic age. Part of this grand plan involves restoring Temple worship, and for that to take place, the priests conducting the services must become ritually pure — a process that requires mixing the ashes of a slaughtered purely-red heifer with water from the Gihon stream, in Jerusalem.

Whether the red heifers meet the exacting requirements of Jewish law as prescribed in the book of Numbers — they may not have more than two non-red hairs on their body, and those two hairs cannot be adjacent — is another matter. But for those eager to see Temple worship resume after a 2,000-year hiatus, the arrival of five red heifer candidates in Israel is a pretty big deal.

The Temple Mount movement, for all its ambition, long languished in one of the most ideologically idiosyncratic corners of Israeli society. They faced opposition from the Israeli public, mainstream rabbinical authorities, the government, and the police — in addition to Muslims worldwide, for whom the Temple Mount compound is Al-Haram Al-Sharif (“the Noble Sanctuary”), the third holiest site in Islam, and who regard attempts at reviving Jewish Temple worship as a threat to the sanctity of the mosques, and to the political fate of the holy city.

But over the last few years, the movement has been extraordinarily successful at pushing past each of these sources of opposition. In what may be its greatest achievement yet, a striking number of Temple Mount activists now make up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, the most famous of whom is Itamar Ben Gvir, the Kahanist star of the last election who is now national security minister. With the surging movement at his back, Ben Gvir has returned the Temple Mount to the Israeli zeitgeist, inflaming tensions that have been steadily rising for years.

Protestors condemn Christian church hosting ‘family friendly’ drag night: ‘DEFEND PURITY, REJECT PERVERSION’

Sherman, Texas police confirmed they had off-duty officers protect the attendees of the drag show at the church

A Christian church in Texas hosted a drag event last weekend that was open to families, prompting protests from locals urging the attendees to “DEFEND PURITY, REJECT PERVERSION.”

The First United Methodist Church in Sherman, Texas became the venue for the May 13 LGBTQ event, after it was moved from its original location at nearby Pecan Grove Park.

The event, called “Pride Prom,” was billed by organizers as a “family-friendly drag show.” A poster for the event, which had the original venue on it, read, “Pride Prom. Be True To You. Saturday, May 13th, 8-11 PM.”

The poster noted the event would have “open mic karaoke,” the “family-friendly drag show” and that it would be hosted by Alex Gemini. The event was organized by Grayson County Pride, an organization representing the local LGBTQ community.

Reports noted that the venue changed last minute and was held at the “Mosaic Campus” of First United Methodist.

On its website, the church noted that it prides itself on inclusivity, stating, “We are young and old, married and single, gay and straight, liberal and conservative, non-conformists and traditionalists, those recovering from addictions, those still battling addictions, and those whose challenges take other forms.”

The event attracted the attention of protestors, who corroborated the existence of the event and the presence of drag queens and “furries” at the church.

Photos show Kim Jong Un and his daughter inspecting military spy satellite

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un examined a finished military spy satellite, which his country is expected to launch soon, during a visit to an aerospace facility where he described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for countering the U.S. and South Korea.

Kim during Tuesday’s visit approved an unspecified “future action plan” in preparations for launching the satellite, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Wednesday. North Korea hasn’t disclosed a target date for the launch, which some analysts say may be in the next few weeks.

That launch would use long-range missile technology banned by past U.N. Security Council resolutions, although previous missile and rockets tests have demonstrated North Korea’s ability to deliver a satellite into space.

There are more questions, however, about the satellite’s capability. Some South Korean analysts say the satellite shown in North Korean state media photos appears too small and crudely designed to support high-resolution imagery. Photos that North Korean media released from past missile launches were low-resolution.

Photos released by the Rodong Sinmun newspaper of Tuesday’s visit showed Kim and his daughter – dressed in white lab coats – talking with scientists near an object that looked like the main component of a satellite. The newspaper did not identify the object, which was surrounded by a perimeter of red tape.

KCNA said the satellite was deemed ready to be loaded onto a rocket after scientists examined the device’s assembly and put it through tests to confirm whether it would withstand the environment of space.

Trans Tyranny: Christian Teacher Banned from Profession After Calling Students ‘Girls’ in Classroom

Regulators in Britain have banned a Christian teacher from the profession for life for “misgendering” a student, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.

The Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) has ruled that Joshua Sutcliffe, 33, formerly of the Cherwell School at Oxford, should be banned from the teaching profession for failing to use the so-called preferred pronouns of a girl student who identified as a boy, which they claimed amounted to not providing the pupil with “dignity and respect”.

Sutcliffe admitted that there was an instance in which he praised a group of students by saying “well done girls” during a maths lesson, which apparently was enough for a student to feel misgendered. Regulators claimed that it was likely that there were other instances of the teacher not using preferred pronouns, however, Sutcliffe had denied these charges, The Telegraph reported.

In addition, the TRA also found the former mathematics teacher guilty of misconduct for expressing his faith-based opposition to gay marriage and for showing students at a different school video with “inappropriate comments” about the problems of declining masculinity in the modern world.

“The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Sutcliffe fell significantly short of the standard of behaviour expected of a teacher,” the ruling from the regulators stated.

The TRA’s Alan Meyrick, who made the decision to impose the ban on the teacher, said: “In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession.”

The chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which has supported Mr Sutcliffe’s case, Andrea Williams said: “This is a tipping point. The government needs to step in and restore some sanity into the teaching profession. Similar action needs to be taken regarding the Teaching Regulation Agency.

“I am very concerned by the way regulatory bodies are now punishing Christian teachers simply for stating the truth.

GIVING UP ON MESSIAH? Shocking new survey finds nearly half of Israeli Jews don’t believe Messiah will ever really come to earth

One of the most important themes running throughout the Hebrew Bible is that the God of Israel promises to send the Messiah to earth one day to redeem the Jewish people and rule Israel and the entire world.

Obviously, the world’s 2.6 billion Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and that He is coming back to earth in the “last days” of history.

Also obvious is that the vast majority of Jews worldwide – and here in Israel – do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

Yet here is a fact that is not obvious at all.

Nearly half of all Israeli Jews have given up believing that the Messiah is real and coming any time in the future.

When asked by researchers, “Do you believe the Messiah is coming?,” a shocking new survey finds that a mere 54.9% of Israeli Jews say “yes.”

Fully 45.1% say “no.”

No one said, “I don’t know.”

The survey of 1,200 Israeli Jews was designed by two Jewish professors in the United States.

For the record, neither believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

The survey was conducted last month in Hebrew by one of the top research and polling firms in Israel.

It was partially funded by ALL ISRAEL NEWS and the results are being published here for the first time. More results will be published over the next few days and will also be released at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Orlando, Florida, this week.

Consider a snapshot of Jews who still believe:

93.8% of Israelis who voted for right-wing Orthodox political parties still believe Messiah is coming one day.

But only 54.9% of those voting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party agree – a number that precisely mirrors the overall view of the country.

An even sharper contrast can be found among those who voted for the opposition parties, including those led by Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz – only 22% of these voters believe that the Messiah is literally coming some day in the future.

Even more striking is that only 15% of Israelis who voted specifically for left-wing parties like Labor and Meretz believe the Messiah will ever literally come to earth.

Vatican may release holy Jewish artifacts from its storage galleries

“They also took all the pails, scrapers, snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze vessels used in the service. KINGS 25:14 (THE ISRAEL BIBLE)

A recent initiative may be bringing Rome and Jerusalem closer together as the Vatican has expressed interest to advance a project releasing artifacts from their archives and allowing them to be placed in a museum.

Investigative archaeologist Rabbi Harry Moskoff has been searching for the Ark of the Covenant for decades and though he has yet to discover the holiest Temple artifact, he was recently contacted by the Vatican. In a stunning example of religious largesse, Vatican officials have expressed a willingness to reveal artifacts from the Holy Land that have been in their possession for hundreds of years. To facilitate this, Moskoff established the Vatican Museum Exchange Program.

The remarkable story began almost two years ago when a lawyer representing the Israeli government contacted Moskoff.

“A high profile lawyer, who happened to be religious, was researching a case at the National Library of France,” Moskoff related. “He came across a document recording gifts that were given to Pope Innocent III by Baldwin I, the Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople in the year 1204.”

The document listed the gifts which were, in fact, artifacts taken from the Holy Land.

“The lawyer contacted me on behalf of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs because he knew that I am an investigative archaeologist,” Moskoff told Israel365 News. “He told me that the Vatican may be interested in sharing with the public Byzantine era artifacts from Israel from the 11th, 12th, and even 13th centuries. This includes ancient makhta (incense shovels) and khatzotzroth (silver trumpets), as well as other smaller Jewish cultic items that were used for sacrificial rites.”

Teachers’ Union Told LA Dodgers Students Could Die If Drag Queen Nuns Weren’t Re-Invited to Pride Night

A powerful California teachers’ union was part of a successful pressure campaign to get the Los Angeles Dodgers to re-invite a group of drag queen nuns to the team’s annual Pride Night. The union suggested that LGBT students’ lives were at stake.

“At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack across the country with more than 400 pieces of legislation filed in states, at a time when 45 percent of LGBTQ+ youth report seriously considering committing suicide each year, we should be leading with love and inclusion in California rather than sowing division,” the California Teachers Association president said in a statement on Monday, referring to a spate of “red state” legislation restricting sex-change treatment for minors and a 2022 Trevor Project survey. “Our students are watching what happens on and off the field.”

The union had resolved to speak out after the Dodgers rescinded an offer to honor the drag group, known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, for its advocacy before a June 16 home game against the San Francisco Giants. The resolution, which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, went even further than the union’s public statement, likening the controversy over the baseball game ceremony to the AIDS epidemic.

“SILENCE = DEATH has long been a refrain of the LGBTQIA+ community, and though it refers to refusal to acknowledge the AIDS crisis, silence in the face of the national assault upon these marginalized youths will lead to more deaths,” the resolution read.

Between 1981 and 1990, more than 100,000 people died of AIDS in the United States, the overwhelming majority of whom were gay men. There is no evidence that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence or sex-changes treatments for minors save lives.

The California Teachers Association’s over-the-top advocacy for the Sisters highlighted the union’s powerful role in California’s progressive politics. It has consistently ranked among the biggest-spending lobbyists in the state legislature and has supported California’s growing embrace of transgenderism in schools.

Hours after the union weighed in, joining LA Pride and others, the Dodgers caved and agreed to recognize the Sisters as originally planned. The team on Monday offered its “sincerest apologies” to the drag group and its allies and pledged to “continue to work with our LGBTQ+ partners to better educate ourselves.” The Sisters confirmed it had accepted the Dodgers’ renewed invitation.

Bud Light To Sponsor Pride Parades Despite Ongoing Boycott

Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch are sponsoring at least three different upcoming Pride events despite backlash over the partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer who identifies as transgender.

Bud Light is listed as a sponsor on the Cincinnati Pride Parade website. Planned Parenthood and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which medically transitions minors, are both also listed.

Meanwhile, in St. Louis, Missouri, where Anheuser-Busch is headquartered, the company is listed as the presenting sponsor of the St. Louis Pride Parade. A sponsorship packet explains that there are only four “presenting sponsor” slots available. The “Rainbow” sponsorship tier, located below the “presenting sponsor” tier, requires entities to pay $25,000.

Bud Light is also listed as a “Diamond Sponsor” of Stonewall Columbus, which organizes and hosts the annual Columbus, Ohio, Pride Parade. The “diamond” sponsorship tier requires companies to donate $20,000, a document from the organization specifies. The document also adds, “All Stonewall Columbus sponsors must affirm Stonewall’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies AND agree to donate no less than 8 hours of volunteer time during a calendar year.”

Anheuser-Busch was also listed as a premier sponsor for the San Francisco Pride Parade in 2022. The 2023 sponsors of the San Francisco Pride Parade have not yet been released.

100% lab-grown babies in FIVE YEARS: Japanese researchers are on cusp of creating human eggs and sperm that can be grown in a fake womb

Growing human babies from scratch in a lab could be possible in just five years thanks to a new breakthrough.

Researchers in Japan are on the cusp of being able to create human eggs and sperm in the lab from scratch, which would then develop in an artificial womb.

Professor Katsuhiko Hayashi, a Japanese scientist at Kyushu University who has already figured out the process in mice, believes he is just five years away from replicating the results in humans.

But there are ethical concerns, as it means women of any age could have babies. Parents may also want to design their offspring to have certain traits using gene editing tools, giving way to the notion of an assumed perfect child.

Dr Hayashi and his team recently created seven mice with two male biological parents, using skin cells from a male mouse to form a viable egg and then fertilize it.

The ability to produce custom-made human sperm and eggs in the lab is called in vitro gametogenesis (IVG).

It works by taking cells from a person’s blood or skin and reprogramming them to become induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells).

In theory, these cells can become any cell in the body, including egg and sperm cells.

They could then be used to make embryos and implanted into women’s wombs.

Scientists have been able to make very basic human eggs and sperm this way, but have not yet been able to make embryos.

Parents to appeal in 4-year-old forced Pride parade case

Christian parents Izzy and Shane Montague are to appeal their case after the Central London County Court dismissed their claim against their child’s former school, Heavers Farm, for attempting to force him to participate in an LGBT themed Pride Parade.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the parents brought the claim after a series of events which left them feeling intimidated and discriminated against for challenging the school over the LGBT education of their 4-year-old son, which included mandatory participation in a school run Pride Parade to celebrate Pride Month.

Parents were informed about the LGBT themed Pride celebration only days in advance when they received a rainbow-coloured invitation to attend the event. In preparation for the parade, children were taught the popular ‘gay anthems’, ‘We are Family’ and ‘True Colours’, which they had to sing while marching around the school.

The children were also required to create rainbow themed art, which the school’s lesson plan held out as an assignment to show support for the diverse LGBT community. The march also featured several large and conspicuous Pride flags. A number of members of staff were photographed at the event wearing LGBT campaigning themed t-shirts, with one teacher wrapping himself in a Pride flag.

The school told all parents that holding the parade was a legal requirement and even said to one parent it was against the law for their son not to attend.

182 children were withdrawn by their parents on the day of the parade.

Despite all of this, the Country Court ruled that the event was, in fact, not a promotion of LGBT but part of a general programme to promote equality and inclusivity.

Circuit Court Judge Christopher Lethem went so far as to find that there was little in the parade that was inconsistent with the Montague’s Christian beliefs (paragraph 160 of judgment).

Elsewhere in the judgment, the Court found that a Stonewall campaigning poster that was hung in the school and read “Some people are gay. Get over it!” was not only consistent with Christianity, but is what Church teaching advocates (paragraph 145 of judgment).