Iran lays out legal case for genocidal attack against ‘cancerous tumor’

Israel in the Last Days

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
—Genesis 12:3

“And they shall no more be a prey•Strongs 957: z;Ab baz; from 962; plunder:—booty, prey, spoil(-ed). to the heathen•Strongs 1471: ywø…g gowy, go´-ee; rarely (shortened) y…Og goy, go´-ee; apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:—Gentile, heathen, nation, people., neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely•Strongs 983: betach, beh´takh; from 982; properly, a place of refuge; abstract, safety, both the fact (security) and the feeling (trust); often (adverb with or without preposition) safely:—assurance, boldly, (without) care(-less), confidence, hope, safe(-ly, -ty), secure, surely., and none shall make them afraid•Strongs 2729: charad, khaw-rad´; a primitive root; to shudder with terror; hence, to fear; also to hasten (with anxiety):—be (make) afraid, be careful, discomfit, fray (away), quake, tremble..”
— Ezekiel 34:28

The Iranian government, through a website proxy, has laid out the legal and religious justification for the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of its people.

The doctrine includes wiping out Israeli assets and Jewish people worldwide.

Calling Israel a danger to Islam, the conservative website Alef, with ties to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the opportunity must not be lost to remove “this corrupting material. It is a ‘jurisprudential justification” to kill all the Jews and annihilate Israel, and in that, the Islamic government of Iran must take the helm.”

The article, written by Alireza Forghani, a conservative analyst and a strategy specialist in Khamenei’s camp, now is being run on most state-owned conservative sites, including the Revolutionary Guards’ Fars News Agency, showing that the regime endorses this doctrine.

Because Israel is going to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iran is justified in launching a pre-emptive, cataclysmic attack against the Jewish state, the doctrine argues.

On Friday, in a major speech at prayers, Khamenei announced that Iran will support any nation or group that attacks the “cancerous tumor” of Israel. Though his statement was seen by some in the West as fluff, there is substance behind it.

Iran’s Defense Ministry announced this weekend that it test-fired an advanced two-stage, solid-fuel ballistic missile and boasted about successfully putting a new satellite into orbit, reminding the West that its engineers have mastered the technology for intercontinental ballistic missiles even as the Islamic state pushes its nuclear weapons program.

The commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Brig. Gen. Seyyed Mehdi Farahi, stated in August that the Safir missile, which is capable of transporting a satellite into space, can easily be launched parallel to the earth’s orbit, which will transform it into an intercontinental ballistic missile. Western analysts didn’t believe this would happen until 2015. Historically, orbiting a satellite is the criterion for crediting a nation with ICBM capability.

Forghani details the Islamic duty of jihad as laid out in the Quran for the sake of Allah and states that “primary jihad,” according to some Shiite jurists, can only occur when the Hidden Imam, the Shiites’ 12th Imam Mahdi, returns. Shiites believe Mahdi’’s return will usher in Armageddon.

In the absence of the hidden Imam, Forghani says, “defensive jihad” could certainly take place when Islam is threatened, and Muslims must defend Islam and kill their enemies. To justify such action, Alef quotes the Shiites’ first imam, Ali, who stated “Waging war against the enemies with whom war is inevitable and there is a strong possibility that in near future they will attack Muslims is a must and the duty of Muslims.”

The article then quotes the Quran (Albaghara 2:191-193): “And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers] … and fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.”

It is the duty for all Muslims to participate in this defensive jihad, Forghani says. A fatwa by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini made it clear that any political domination by infidels over Muslims authorizes Muslims to defend Islam by all means. Iran now has the ICBM means to deliver destruction on Israel and soon will have nuclear warheads for those missiles.

In order to attack Iran, the article says, Israel needs the approval and assistance of America, and under the current passive climate in the United States, the opportunity must not be lost to wipe out Israel before it attacks Iran.

Under this pre-emptive defensive doctrine, several Ground Zero points of Israel must be destroyed and its people annihilated. Forghani cites the last census by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics that shows Israel has a population of 7.5 million citizens of which a majority of 5.7 million are Jewish. Then it breaks down the districts with the highest concentration of Jewish people, indicating that three cities, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, contain over 60 percent of the Jewish population that Iran could target with its Shahab 3 ballistic missiles, killing all its inhabitants.

Forghani suggests that Iran’s Sejil missile, which is a two-stage rocket with a trajectory and speed that make it impossible to intercept, should target such Israeli facilities as: the Rafael nuclear plant, which is the main nuclear engineering center of Israel; the Eilun nuclear plant; another Israeli reactor in Nebrin; and the Dimona reactor in the nuclear research center in Neqeb, the most critical nuclear reactor in Israel because it produces 90 percent enriched uranium for Israel’s nuclear weapons.

Other targets, according to the article, include airports and air force bases such as the Sedot Mikha Air Base, which contains Jericho ballistic missiles and is located southwest of the Tel Nof Air Base, where aircraft equipped with nuclear weapons are based. Secondary targets include power plants, sewage treatment facilities, energy resources, and transportation and communication infrastructures.

Finally, Forghani says, Shahab 3 and Ghadr missiles can target urban settlements until the Israelis are wiped out.

Forghani claims that Israel could be destroyed in less than nine minutes and that Khamenei, as utmost authority, the Velayete Faghih (Islamic Jurist), also believes that Israel and America not only must be defeated but annihilated.

The radicals ruling Iran today not only posses over 1,000 ballistic missiles but are on the verge of ICBM delivery and have sufficient enriched uranium for six nuclear bombs even as they continue to highly enrich uranium despite four sets of U.N. sanctions.

The Iranian secret documentary “The Coming Is Upon Us” clearly indicates that these radicals believe the destruction of Israel will trigger the coming of the last Islamic Messiah and that even Jesus Christ, who will convert to Islam, will act as Mahdi’s deputy, praying to Allah as he stands behind the 12th Imam.

The U.S. and Israel are publicly disagreeing over timing for a potential attack on Iran’s disputed nuclear facilities, as that nation’s leader said it won’t back down.

Israel in the Last Days

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
—Genesis 12:3

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.”
—Ezekiel 39:25-29

The U.S. and Israel have a “significant analytic difference” over estimates of how close Iran is to shielding its nuclear program from attack, Aaron David Miller, a former Mideast peace negotiator in the Clinton administration, said today.
“There’s a growing concern — more than a concern — that the Israelis, in order to protect themselves, might launch a strike without approval, warning or even foreknowledge,” he said in an interview.
The differing views were underscored by public comments this week by senior Israeli and U.S. defense officials.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday that Israel must consider conducting “an operation” before Iran reaches an “immunity zone,” referring to Iran’s goal of protecting its uranium enrichment and other nuclear operations by moving them to deep underground facilities such as one at Fordo, near the holy city of Qom.
‘Nearing Readiness’
“The world has no doubt that Iran’s nuclear program is steadily nearing readiness and is about to enter an immunity zone,” Barak said in an address to the annual Herzliya Conference at the Interdisciplinary Center campus north of Tel Aviv. “If the sanctions don’t achieve their goal of halting Iran’s nuclear weapons program, there will arise the need of weighing an operation,” Barak said.
The U.S. holds the view that “there is still time and space to pursue diplomacy” with Iran over its nuclear program, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said today in Washington. He added that the U.S. “is absolutely committed to preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons.”
In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that his nation won’t abandon its nuclear efforts and warned that a strike against the nuclear program would damage U.S. interests in the Middle East “10 times over,” according to the Associated Press. He said, without providing details, that he would disclose a letter that he said President Barack Obama sent Iran’s leaders.
Referring to Israel as a “cancerous tumor,” Khamenei said in his Friday sermon that “if any nation or any group confronts the Zionist regime, we will help.” He said that Iran has assisted anti-Israel groups such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas.
SWIFT Sanctions
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved yesterday a bill that would increase the economic pressure on Iran. The proposal targets Iran-related banking transactions, Iran’s national oil company and leading tanker fleet, joint ventures in mining and energy projects. It also would require corporate disclosure of Iran-related activity to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
One provision calls on the administration to provide a report to Congress within 60 days detailing Iran-related financial transactions facilitated by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, the Belgian member-owned institution known as Swift, and its competitors. The measure would give the president authority to sanction Swift to cut off such services. A similar bill, with stronger language mandating the imposition of sanctions, was submitted in the House yesterday.
Within Israel, there isn’t consensus that striking Iran is either good or necessary. Ephraim Halevy, a former head of Israel’s Mossad security agency, is one of two former intelligence chiefs who have spoken against a strike.
Panetta’s Concerns
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declined to comment directly on a report by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June. Panetta and other U.S. officials have repeatedly warned Israel not to act alone.
“Israel has indicated that they’re considering this” through public statements, Panetta told reporters traveling with him yesterday in Brussels. “And we have indicated our concerns.”
Israelis think Iran will reach the immunity zone in “half the time the Americans think it will,” Miller said. “To take that difference and talk about a growing rift” between Israel and the U.S. “is by and large an overstatement,” he said.
Obama-Netanyahu Relations
Tension between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be complicating communications on the issue, a U.S. defense official said. “There’s no love lost between the two of them, and there’s a trust deficit,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the news media.
Defense officials have been concerned that Obama hasn’t warned Netanyahu directly enough about the risks of a Israeli preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, including for U.S. interests in the region such as bases in in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, according to the official.
James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said Jan. 31 that communication with Israel was good. “We’re doing a lot with the Israelis, working together with them,” he told the Senate intelligence panel.
Unknown Intentions
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, has said it is “premature” to resort to military force because sanctions are starting to have an impact on Iran. In a Jan. 26 interview with National Journal, Dempsey said he delivered a similar message of caution to Israel’s top leadership during a visit to the Jewish state in early January.
U.S. intelligence agencies think Iran is developing capabilities to produce nuclear weapons “should it choose to do so,” said Clapper.
“We do not know, however, if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons,” he said.
While leaders of both countries agree that time must be given to gauge the impact of the latest set of economic sanctions on Iran, Israel’s patience is shorter than that of the U.S., Ephraim Kam, deputy director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, said.
‘Too Late’
“It will take at least six months to see whether sanctions are effective and by then it may be too late,” said Kam, author of the 2007 book, “A Nuclear Iran: What Does it Mean, and What Can be Done.”
“We’re definitely using different clocks,” he said.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz told the Herzliya conference on Feb. 1 that his nation must be “willing to deploy” its military assets because Iran may be within a year of gaining nuclear weapons capability. Gantz said international sanctions are starting to show some results.
Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s vice prime minister and its former top military commander, played down Iran’s ability to shelter its activities from a military attack. “It’s possible to strike all Iran’s facilities, and I say that out of my experience as IDF chief of staff,” he said at the conference, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces.
The U.S., its European allies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have challenged the government in Tehran to prove that its nuclear work is intended only for energy and medical research, as Iranian officials maintain.
Mehdi Khalaji, an Iran specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in an interview that he doubts that the U.S. or Iran will launch a military strike this year. Rather, he cited the possibility than Iran might stage a provocation and use any response as an excuse to launch an asymmetrical attack against U.S. and Israel targets using proxies such as Hezbollah.

Officials Lobby Against Attack on Iran as Military Leaders Bolster Defenses

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Israel in the Last Days

“And they shall no more be a prey•Strongs 957: z;Ab baz; from 962; plunder:—booty, prey, spoil(-ed). to the heathen•Strongs 1471: ywø…g gowy, go´-ee; rarely (shortened) y…Og goy, go´-ee; apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:—Gentile, heathen, nation, people., neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely•Strongs 983: betach, beh´takh; from 982; properly, a place of refuge; abstract, safety, both the fact (security) and the feeling (trust); often (adverb with or without preposition) safely:—assurance, boldly, (without) care(-less), confidence, hope, safe(-ly, -ty), secure, surely., and none shall make them afraid•Strongs 2729: charad, khaw-rad´; a primitive root; to shudder with terror; hence, to fear; also to hasten (with anxiety):—be (make) afraid, be careful, discomfit, fray (away), quake, tremble..”
— Ezekiel 34:28

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
—Genesis 12:3

WASHINGTON—U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, over U.S. objections, and have stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region in case of a conflict.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a string of private messages to Israeli leaders warning about the dire consequences of a strike. The U.S. wants Israel to give more time for the effects of sanctions and other measures intended to force Iran to abandon its perceived efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Stepping up the pressure, Mr. Obama spoke by telephone on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet with Israeli military officials in Tel Aviv next week.

The high-stakes planning and diplomacy comes as U.S. officials warn Tehran, including through what administration officials described Friday as direct messages to Iran’s leaders, against provocative actions.

Tehran has warned that it could retaliate to tightened sanctions by blocking oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to punish the perpetrators of the assassination—blamed by Iran on the U.S. and Israel—of an Iranian scientist involved in the nuclear program.

The U.S. denied the charge and condemned the attack. Israel hasn’t commented.

The U.S. and Iran, however, have taken steps in recent days apparently designed to ease tensions. Iran has agreed to host a delegation of United Nations nuclear inspectors this month. The U.S., meanwhile, has twice this month rescued Iranian sailors in the region’s seas.

Covert efforts by Israel’s intelligence service to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons have been credited with slowing the program without the high risk of military conflict that could be sparked by an airstrike. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful uses.

But Israel has declined to rule out a strike, as has the U.S.

“It is the policy of the Israeli government, and the Obama administration, that all options remain on the table. And it is crucial that the ayatollahs in Tehran take this policy seriously,” said Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S.

Mr. Netanyahu said in a recent interview that Iran has begun to “wobble,” a signal some U.S. officials believe suggests he is willing to follow the current U.S. strategy, which seeks to avoid a military confrontation with Iran.

“Recent comments by the Israelis show they understand how tough the sanctions we’ve put in place are and are giving them time to work,” said a senior Obama administration official.

The U.S. military is preparing for a number of possible responses to an Israeli strike, including assaults by pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to U.S. officials.

The U.S. believes its embassy and other diplomatic outposts in Iraq are more vulnerable following the withdrawal of U.S. forces last month. Up to 15,000 U.S. diplomats, federal employees and contractors are expected to remain in Iraq.

In large measure to deter Iran, the U.S. has 15,000 troops in Kuwait, and has moved a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf area.

It has also been pre-positioning aircraft and other military equipment, officials say. Arms transfers to key allies in the Gulf, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, have been fast-tracked as a further deterrent, officials say.

Israeli officials said Mr. Netanyahu’s government continues to closely coordinate with the U.S. in responding to the Iranian threat. “Israel believes that heightened sanctions combined with a credible military threat may dissuade the Iranian regime from developing nuclear capabilities,” Mr. Oren said.

Mr. Panetta and other top officials have privately sought assurances from Israeli leaders in recent weeks that they won’t take military action against Iran. But the Israeli response has been noncommittal, U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials briefed on the military’s planning said concern has mounted over the past two years that Israel may strike Iran. But rising tensions with Iran and recent changes at Iranian nuclear sites have ratcheted up the level of U.S. alarm.

“Our concern is heightened,” a senior U.S. military official said of the probability of an Israeli strike over U.S. objections.

Tehran crossed at least one of Israel’s “red lines” earlier this month when it announced it had begun enriching uranium at the Fordow underground nuclear facility near the holy city of Qom.

The planned closing of Israel’s nuclear plant near Dimona this month, which was reported in Israeli media, sounded alarms in Washington, where officials feared it meant Israel was repositioning its own nuclear assets to safeguard them against a potential Iranian counterstrike.

Despite the close relationship between the U.S. and Israel, U.S. officials have consistently puzzled over Israeli intentions. “It’s hard to know what’s bluster and what’s not with the Israelis,” said a former U.S. official.

Inside the Israeli security establishment, a sort of good cop, bad cop routine, in which Israeli officials rattle sabers amid a U.S. scramble to restrain them, has assumed its own name: “Hold Me Back.”

Some American intelligence officials complain that Israel represents a blind spot in U.S. intelligence, which devotes little resources to Israel. Some officials have long argued that, given the potential for Israel to drag the U.S. into potentially explosive situations, the U.S. should devote more resources to divining Israel’s true intentions.

—Charles Levinson and Siobhan Gorman contributed to this article.

Israeli metropolis wins 43% of votes in American Airlines competition selecting most popular destinations among LGTB tourists; New York City comes in second with only 14% of votes

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Days of Lot

Please read Leviticus 18:22-30“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.” —Leviticus 18:22-30 to see the results of this lifestyle on a progressively decaying society, as it turns from it’s creator.

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
—Jude 1:7

Tel Aviv has been named the Best Gay City of 2011 in an international American Airlines competition selecting the most popular destinations among LGTB tourists.

The Israeli metropolis won 43% of the votes, leaving New York City behind in the second place with only 14% of the votes.

The top 10 cities also included Toronto, Sao Paulo, Madrid, London, New Orleans and Mexico City. Voting was held last month on the company’s website.

The competition included additional categories, including Best Nightlife (won by New York City), Best Pride (San Francisco) and Best Sand & Sun (Sydney).

Tel Aviv, which was marked as a favorite even before the voting concluded, was described during the competition as “the gay capital of the Middle East, exotic and welcoming, with a Mediterranean c’est la vie attitude.”

Shai Doitsh, brand manager of the Tel Aviv Gay Vibe tourism campaign, told Ynet shortly after learning of the results: “This makes us very proud.

“This is the peak of six years of activity and further proof that the decision made by the Tourism Ministry and Tel Aviv Municipality to invest in gay tourism and put their faith in the program we built was the right decision.

“This is an excellent start for the coming year of activity, in which we will continue to innovate and surprise, and mainly bring thousands of tourists to Israel,” he added.

Thousands of US troops began descending on Israel this week. Senior US military sources told DEBKAfile Friday, Jan. 6 that many would be staying up to the end of the year as part of the US-IDF deployment in readiness for a military engagement with Iran and its possible escalation into a regional conflict. They will be joined by a US aircraft carrier. The warplanes on its decks will fly missions with Israeli Air Force jets. The 9,000 US servicemen gathering in Israel in the coming weeks are mostly airmen, missile interceptor teams, marines, seamen, technicians and intelligence officers.

Israel in the Last Days

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
—Genesis 12:3

“And he shall set up an ensign •Strongs 5251: nace; from 5264; a flag; also a sail; by implication, a flagstaff; generally a signal; figuratively, a token:—banner, pole, sail, (en-)sign, standard.
•Strongs 5264: naw-sas´; a primitive root; to gleam from afar, i.e. to be conspicuous as a signal; or rather perhaps a denominative from 5251 (and identical with 5263, through the idea of a flag as fluttering in the wind); to raise a beacon:—lift up as an ensign. for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
—Isaiah 11:12

The incoming American soldiers are officially categorized as participants in Austere Challenge 12, the biggest joint US-Israeli war game ever held.
The maneuver was originally designated Juniper Stallion 2012. However, the altered name plus the comment heard from the exercise’s commander, US Third Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, during his visit two weeks ago, that the coming event is more a “deployment” than an “exercise,” confirmed that Washington has expanded its mission. The joint force will now be in place ready for a decision to attack Iran’s nuclear installations or any war emergency.
Our sources disclose that it was decided at the last minute in Washington and Jerusalem to announce the forthcoming Austere Challenge 12 on Thursday night, Jan. 5, ahead of the bulletin released by Tehran about another Iranian naval exercise at the Strait of Hormuz to take place in February, although its 10-day drill in the same arena only ended Monday, Jan. 2.
The early release was decided in consultations among US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the two army chiefs, US Gen. Martin Dempsey and Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.
British Defense Minister Phillip Hammond, on a visit to Washington, was brought into the discussion.
The handout circulated to US correspondents from Hammond’s talks in the US capital affirmed that Britain stands ready to strike Iran if the Strait of Hormuz is closed.
However, that phrase was omitted from the British minister’s remarks at a news conference, following a last-minute request from Panetta, signifying the Obama administration’s interest of keeping a low profile on plans for attacking Iran.
Tehran too is walking a taut tightrope. It is staging military’s maneuvers every few days to assuring the Iranian people that its leaders are fully prepared to defend the country against an American or Israeli strike on its national nuclear program. By this stratagem, Iran’s ground, sea and air forces are maintained constantly at top war readiness to thwart any surprise attack.
The joint US-Israeli drill will test multiple Israeli and US air defense systems against incoming missiles and rockets, according to the official communiqué.
DEBKAfile’s military sources add that they will also practice intercepting missiles and rockets coming in from Syria, Hizballah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It will not be the first time a US aircraft carrier docks in Israel for joint operations with the Israeli Air Force. On June 9, 2010, the USS Truman dropped anchor opposite Israel to test a joint deployment against Iran and its allies. The carrier and its air and naval strike force then staged joint firing practices with the Israeli Air Force over the Negev in the South.
Washington and Jerusalem are doing their utmost to present a perfectly synchronized military front against Iran: American officers are stationed at IDF command centers and Israeli officers posted at the US European Command-EUCOM. At the same time, DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that full consensus has not been reached on every last particular of shared operation against Iran, should one go forward.

Online petition demanding book’s removal unless its position on homosexuality is revised receives over 500 signatures within day of being posted.

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Days of Lot

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly•Strongs 808: aschemosune, as-kay-mos-oo´-nay; from 809; an indecency; by implication, the pudenda:—shame, that which is unseemly., and receiving•Strongs 618: apolambano, ap-ol-am-ban´-o; from 575 and 2983; to receive (specially, in full, or as a host); also to take aside: — receive, take., in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”
—Romans 1:27

“We lie down in our shame, and our confusion•Strongs 3639: klimmah, kel-im-maw´; from 3637; disgrace:—confusion, dishonour, reproach, shame. covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
—Jeremiah 3:25

Jesus Said

“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.”
—Mark 10:6

Mental health experts, educators and members of Israel’s gay community are protesting the use in the mental health curriculum in a number of academic institutions of a textbook they say presents anti-homosexual positions. The most recent edition of “Prakim nivharim b’psichiatria” (“Select Chapters in Psychiatry”) was published in 2010 and is part of the curriculum in universities, colleges and teachers’ colleged. An Internet petition circulated by the book’s detractors demands its removal from the curriculum of clinical programs unless and until its position on homosexuality is revised. A day after the petition was posted it had more than 500 signatures.

One of the book’s chapters states that homosexuality is a personal choice and claims that the theory of Charles Socarides, according to which homosexuality is an emotional disorder that can be cured through therapy, is “the most accepted approach today.” The chapter was written by Prof. Shmuel Tiano, former director of the Geha Psychiatric Hospital in Petah Tikva.

Tiano describes homosexuality as a “symptom,” and that psychotherapy can bring about the integration of “this borderline personality” and “the disappearance of the symptom.” It also described homosexuality and transgender identity among children as a “disorder” that should be treated to enable children to develop “normal sexual development.”

In conversation with Haaretz, Tiano said the chapter is a historical survey and does not represent current thinking on the issues.

Eight years ago Gidi Rubinstein, a psychotherapist who teaches at the Netanya Academic College and whose clinical practice specializes in gay and bisexual clients, published an article in the column in the gay and lesbian monthly “Hazman Havarod” criticizing the book. Tiano contacted him to discuss his concerns. Rubinstein said he expected his objections would be addressed in the 2010 edition but they were not.

Rubinstein was particularly critical of the platform he said the book gives to the views of Socarides. Tiano said the characterizations of homosexuality as a “disorder” or “symptom” in the chapter are simply descriptions of obsolete views. “I explicitly wrote in the chapter that it is not a disorder.”

“In its current edition, the chapter on homosexuality not only constitutes a declaration of homophobia, but it educates future therapists and educators to be homophobic,” Rubinstein said. The fact that the book is published by a university press, Dyonon, and that it was compiled by four leading figures in the psychiatry field gives the book added importance. Avi Chamo, the CEO of Dyonon said he was proud of the book, which is in its fifth edition and is a bestseller. He said the book was designed to survey a range of views and promote academic discourse.

“There is a word or two that needs to be proofread,” Tiano acknowledged. “In advance of the next edition of the book, I commit to carry out additional proofreading and to change the two or three words that have to be changed in the chapter.”

‘Unfortunate’

Chen Langer of the Israeli National LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Task Force, known as the Aguda, said: “It is unfortunate that a book is taught in Israeli universities that still defines, whether intentionally, unintentionally or out of negligence, any sexual orientation as a medical diagnosis in and of itself that requires ‘diagnosis’ or, God help us, any kind of ‘treatment.’ Langer said the Aguda wants the Council for Higher Education to order the book’s immediate removal from university and college reading lists and libraries.

Chamo said in a response that the book’s title, “Select Chapters in Psychiatry,” indicates its contents – a “review of myriad theories in theoretical and clinical psychiatry. In my humble opinion, professionals in the fields of education, mental health, social work and academia (as the petition’s signers claim to be) should be familiar with all the existing theories” in order to promote professional discussion and enable clients to make educated decisions about their treatment.” Chamo said Dyonon would refer any professional errors to the authors and make corrections as needed.

The Council for Higher Education said in a response that under the provisions of the laws governing academic freedom the individual academic institutions, not the council, decide on which texts they teach.

Negev Minister Bachor projects that cities of Arad, Yeruham, Dimona will triple in population size by 2025.

Israel in the Last Days

“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”
—Isaiah 35:1

The Negev and Galilee Development Ministry aims to have 1.2 million residents – double the current figure – in the Negev by the 2025, the office announced at a Thursday conference that focused on the economic and social future of the region.

The conference, called NegeVision 2011, was organized in Yeruham by Haaretz’s The Marker and NegevCo, a company that assists projects that will bring development, employment and social opportunities to the Negev. Presenting her office’s vision for 2025, Negev and Galilee Development Ministry chief Orna Uzman Bachor projected that the cities of Arad, Yeruham and Dimona would triple in population size, while 40 new industrial and technological facilities would spring up in the next five years alone. Others expressed confidence that the probable construction of a future Training Base City (Ir Habahadim) would bring increased vitality to the area.

“All the momentum that has grown in the Negev is thanks to the wonderful human capital that is found here, and the transfer of army families south,” Bachor said, according to a statement. “We are subsidizing rent for permanent families and we are actively working to increasing employment and strengthen central cities that will absorb new residents.”

Highlighting some of the accomplishments her ministry has already made in the region, Bachor spoke about the “smart classrooms” that children across the Negev have been given access to, the statement continued. Meanwhile, she announced the launch of a brand new website, MacshevVehNegev (Calculator and Negev – www.b-negev.org.il) designed to allow surfers to compare the cost of living and quality of life in the Negev to their current places of residence. The site contains various parameters that viewers can explore, such as costs of housing, transportation, leisure and cultural opportunities, Bachor explained to conference participants.

“Everything was done as part of the target of the ministry to bring 300,000 new residents to the Negev in the next decade.” she said.

Stef Wertheimer, the founder of many industrial areas in the Negev and the Galilee, expressed concern, however, that approximately 30,000 Negev children are not included in the Israeli education system, and he blamed the finance and education ministers for slowing Negev development and providing insufficient funds for vocational schools, according to a second statement about the conference.

“Closing vocational schools is one of the main causes for the island of development in the Negev, and we hope that with the move of the Israel Defense Force to the Negev, the situation will improve,” he said.

Brig.-Gen. Hezi Meshita, head of the IDF Negev branch, expressed confidence that this probable move, which is supposed to occur in 2014, will do just that. The new Training Base City can bring “changes to the foundation” of the Negev, as 30,000 soldiers will move to the Negev for their service and 90,000 trainees will pass through. He expressed hopes that already one million residents would live in the Negev by the year 2020.

Yet while the mayor of Yeruham, Michael Bitton, praised the IDF’s intention to make its future home in the Negev, he also expressed concners that the Training Base City would be isolated from Yeruham and therefore provide it only with minimal benefit.

“Yeruham is excellent today, but the question is whether the establishment of a Training Base City will be an island in the Negev?” Bitton asked, according to the statement.

Bitton suggested that a two-lane road specifically be established to connect the city with Yeruham, and that 50 hectares be allotted for entrepreneurs to build services for the new population – calling the project “an acid test” for the IDF in the Negev.

Shi’ite organization trying to move advanced weaponry from Syria to Lebanon to prevent its capture by Assad opposition.

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Israel in the Last Days

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.”
—Ezekiel 39:25-29

Moving Towards Ezekiel 38-39

“Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:”
—Ezekiel 38:5

Editors note about Persia and Hezblooah•FYI: Many Bible teachers believe Persia is the area of present day Iran.
It certainly appears that, Hezblooah, is a surrogate army for Iran and is supplied through Syria.

Israel is taking precautions and is tracking the transfer of arms from Syria to Lebanon, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday, amid concern that Hezbollah is trying to move advanced weaponry out of Syria.

Touring the Golan Heights, Barak said that the Syrian missile test on Sunday was conducted out of fear and that Bashar Assad’s regime would fall in the near future. Israel is concerned that Hezbollah is planning to move advanced weaponry it has been storing in Syria to Lebanon to prevent it from being captured by opposition groups which are fighting against Assad.

“It is now quiet here but a few days ago just a few hundred kilometers northeast of here we saw the launching of different rockets,” Barak said on the sidelines of an exercise of the Golani Brigade which he attended together with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz. “It could be that the fire was part of a demonstration of capabilities but it is more about fear and distress than about confidence.”

On Sunday, the Syrian military test fired a Scud-B ballistic missile and other short range rockets. Syria is believed to have several hundred Scud missiles as well as a number of Scud-D models, the longest-range ballistic missile in its arsenal.

Barak said that while he hoped the border would remain quiet, the IDF, he said, was prepared for any development on the Syrian and Lebanese fronts.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel does not want to take military action against Iran over its nuclear program, but at some point may have no other option, the Israeli defense minister said Thursday

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Israel in the Last Days

“And I will bring again the captivity•Strongs 7622: shbuwth, sheb-ooth´; or shbiyth, sheb-eeth´; from 7617; exile, concretely, prisoners; figuratively, a former state of prosperity:—captive(-ity).
•Strongs 7617: shabah, shaw-baw´; a primitive root; to transport into captivity:—(bring away, carry, carry away, lead, lead away, take) captive(-s), drive (take) away. of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up•Strongs 5428: nathash, naw-thash´; a primitive root; to tear away:—destroy, forsake, pluck (out, up, by the roots), pull up, root out (up), x utterly. out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.”
—Amos 9:14-15

Moving Towards Ezekiel 38-39

“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:”
—Ezekiel 38:2-5

Editors note about the words and Gog•FYI: Many Bible teachers believe that Gog is the leader of the Russia alliance in the latter days., Magog•FYI: Many Bible teachers believe that Magog, the descendant of Japheth, is identified as the Russian coalition in the latter days. and Persia•FYI: Persia in concert with Adolf Hitler, changed its name to Iran (Aryan Land) in May of 1935.

The Jewish state at this point did not intend to launch a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, but retained the option as a “last resort,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio.
“We don’t need unnecessary wars. But we definitely might be put to the test,” he said.
Barak said he hoped that sanctions and diplomacy would pressure the Iranian leadership to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program, but did not expect that to happen.
Israel, like the West, is convinced Iran is developing a nuclear bomb, despite Tehran’s insistence that its nuclear program is designed to produce energy.
Israel says a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten the Jewish state’s survival, citing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated references to Israel’s destruction, Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles and its support for militant groups that fight Israel.
The U.S. — as well as some security experts in Israel — have loudly opposed the prospect of an Israeli military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, because of its potential for touching off retaliation against Israel and a broader, regional conflagration.
But Barak suggested that Israel might not alert world powers before embarking on a strike.
“Israel is a sovereign state and it is the government of Israel, the Israeli army and security forces who are responsible for Israel’s security, future and survival,” he said.
Mysterious blasts, computer viruses and assassinations have disrupted Iran’s nuclear program, and there has been speculation of Israeli involvement.
Barak would not comment on that possibility, but said, “We are not happy to see the Iranians move ahead on this (program), so any delay, be it divine intervention or otherwise, is welcome.”
In a reflection of Israeli concerns over Iran, the Israeli army said Thursday that it has launched a project to teach Farsi, the dominant language in Iran, to Israeli high school students in hopes of preparing them for careers in military intelligence.
An army intelligence official said a select group of 23 honors students had been carefully chosen to participate in the three-year course. An intelligence commander in uniform comes to their school to teach the course, and soldiers from the intelligence unit help them with homework.
“The need for Persian instruction is obvious,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with army protocol.
A few dozen high-school students graduated this year from a similar pilot course in high-level Arabic. Most of them subsequently enlisted into Israel’s army intelligence, the official said.

The Dead Sea Scrolls may have been written, at least in part, by a sectarian group called the Essenes, according to nearly 200 textiles discovered in caves at Qumran, in the West Bank, where the religious texts had been stored.

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Knowledge Increased

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased•Strongs 7235: rabah, raw-baw´; a primitive root; to increase (in whatever respect):—(bring in) abundance (x -antly), + archer (by mistake for 7232), be in authority, bring up, x continue, enlarge, excel, exceeding(-ly), be full of, (be, make) great(-er, -ly, x -ness), grow up, heap, increase, be long, (be, give, have, make, use) many (a time), (any, be, give, give the, have) more (in number), (ask, be, be so, gather, over, take, yield) much (greater, more), (make to) multiply, nourish, plenty(-eous), x process (of time), sore, store, thoroughly, very..”
—Daniel 12:4

Israel in the Last Days

“And he shall set up an ensign •Strongs 5251: nace; from 5264; a flag; also a sail; by implication, a flagstaff; generally a signal; figuratively, a token:—banner, pole, sail, (en-)sign, standard.
•Strongs 5264: naw-sas´; a primitive root; to gleam from afar, i.e. to be conspicuous as a signal; or rather perhaps a denominative from 5251 (and identical with 5263, through the idea of a flag as fluttering in the wind); to raise a beacon:—lift up as an ensign. for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
—Isaiah 11:12

Scholars are divided about who authored the Dead Sea Scrolls and how the texts got to Qumran, and so the new finding could help clear up this long-standing mystery.
The research reveals that all the textiles were made of linen, rather than wool, which was the preferred textile used in ancient Israel. Also they lack decoration, some actually being bleached white, even though fabrics from the period often have vivid colours. Altogether, researchers say these finds suggest that the Essenes, an ancient Jewish sect, “penned” some of the scrolls.
Not everyone agrees with this interpretation. An archaeologist who has excavated at Qumran told LiveScience that the linen could have come from people fleeing the Roman army after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and that they are in fact responsible for putting the scrolls into caves.
Iconic scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of nearly 900 texts, the first batch of which were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947. They date from before A.D. 70, and some may go back to as early as the third century B.C. The scrolls contain a wide variety of writings including early copies of the Hebrew Bible, along with hymns, calendars and psalms, among other works. [Gallery of Dead Sea Scrolls]
Nearly 200 textiles were found in the same caves, along with a few examples from Qumran, the archaeological site close to the caves where the scrolls were hidden.
Orit Shamir, curator of organic materials at the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Naama Sukenik, a graduate student at Bar-Ilan University, compared the white-linen textiles found in the11 caves to examples found elsewhere in ancient Israel, publishing their results in the most recent issue of the journal Dead Sea Discoveries.
A breakthrough in studying these remains was made in 2007 when a team of archaeologists was able to ascertain that colorful wool textiles found at a site to the south of Qumran, known as the Christmas Cave, were not related to the inhabitants of the site. This meant that Shamir and Sukenik were able to focus on the 200 textiles found in the Dead Sea Scroll caves and at Qumran itself, knowing that these are the only surviving textiles related to the scrolls.
They discovered that every single one of these textiles was made of linen, even though wool was the most popular fabric at the time in Israel. They also found that most of the textiles would have originally been used as clothing, later being cut apart and re-used for other purposes such as bandages and for packing the scrolls into jars. [Photos of Dead Sea textiles]
Some of the textiles were bleached white and most of them lacked decoration, even though decoration is commonly seen in textiles from other sites in ancient Israel.
According to the researchers the finds suggest that the residents of Qumran dressed simply.
“They wanted to be different than the Roman world,” Shamir told LiveScience in a telephone interview. “They were very humble, they didn’t want to wear colorful textiles, they wanted to use very simple textiles.”
The owners of the clothing likely were not poor, as only one of the textiles had a patch on it.”This is very, very, important,” Shamir said. “Patching is connected with [the] economic situation of the site.”
Shamir pointed out that textiles found at sites where people were under stress, such as at the Cave of Letters, which was used in a revolt against the Romans, were often patched. On the other hand “if the site is in a very good economic situation, if it is a very rich site, the textiles will not be patched,” she said. With Qumran, “I think [economically] they were in the middle, but I’m sure they were not poor.”
Robert Cargill, a professor at the University of Iowa, has written extensively about Qumran and has developed a virtual model of it. He said that archaeological evidence from the site, including coins and glassware, also suggests the inhabitants were not poor.
“Far from being poor monastics, I think there was wealth at Qumran, at least some form of wealth,” Cargill said, arguing that trade was important at the site. “I think they made their own pottery and sold some of it, I think they bred animals and sold them, I think they made honey and sold it.”
Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Scholars are divided about who authored the Dead Sea Scrolls and how the texts got to Qumran. Some argue that the scrolls were written at the site itself while others say they were written in Jerusalem or elsewhere in Israel.
Qumran itself was first excavated by Roland de Vaux in the 1950s. He came to the conclusion that the site was inhabited by a religious sect called the Essenes who wrote the scrolls and stored them in caves. Among the finds he made were water pools, which he believed were used for ritual bathing, and multiple inkwells found in a room that became known as the “scriptorium.” Based on his excavations, scholars have estimated the population of the site at as high as 200.
More recent archaeological work, conducted by Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg of the Israel Antiquities Authority, suggests that the site could not have supported more than a few dozen people and had nothing to do with the scrolls themselves. They believe that the scrolls were deposited in the caves by refugees fleeing the Roman army after Jerusalem was conquered in A.D. 70.
Magen and Peleg found that the site came into existence around 100 B.C. as a military outpost used by the Hasmoneans, a Jewish kingdom that flourished in the area. After the Romans took over Judaea in 63 B.C. the site was abandoned and eventually was taken over by civilians who used it for pottery production. They found that the pools de Vaux discovered include a fine layer of potters’ clay.
There are other ideas as well. Cargill argues that while Qumran started out as a fort it was later occupied by a sectarian group whose members were deeply concerned with ritual purity. “Whether or not they are the Essenes, that’s a different question,” he said. This group, much smaller than earlier estimates of 200 people, would have written some of the scrolls, while collecting others, he argues.
Other groups, not part of the Qumran community, may also have been putting scrolls into the caves, Cargill said.
Can clothing solve the mystery?
The new clothing research may help to identify the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Shamir told LiveScience that it is unlikely the scrolls were deposited in the caves by Roman refugees. If that were the case, the more-popular textile in ancient Israel, wool, would have been found in the caves along with other garments.
“If people run away from Jerusalem they would take all sorts of textiles with them, not only linen textiles,” she said. “The people who ran away to the Cave of Letters, they took wool textiles with them.”
Peleg, the archaeologist who co-led the recent archaeological work at Qumran, told LiveScience he disagrees with that assessment. He said he stands by the idea that there is no connection between Qumran and the scrolls stored in the caves.
“We must remember that almost all the textiles were found in the caves andnot at the site. The main question is the connection between the site and the scrolls,” Peleg wrote in an email. “I can find alternative explanations for the fact that scrolls were found with linen.”
For instance, linen could have been chosen as scroll wrapping for religious reasons or perhaps priests were responsible for storing the scrolls and they wore linen clothing. “The clothes of the priests were made from linen,” Peleg wrote.
In their paper, Shamir and Sukenik say that the clothing found in the Dead Sea Scroll caves is similar to historical descriptions of the clothing of the Essenes, suggesting that they in fact lived at Qumran. They point to an ancient Jewish writer, Flavius Josephus, who wrote that the Essenes “make a point of keeping a dry skin and always being dressed in white.” (However, Josephus never said anything about the clothing being made of linen, Peleg points out.)
Josephusalso wrote that the Essenes were very frugal when it came to clothing and shared goods with each other.
“In their dress and deportment they resemble children under rigorous discipline. They do not change their garments or shoes until they are torn to shreds or worn threadbare with age. There is no buying or selling among themselves, but each gives what he has to any in need and receives from him in exchange something useful to himself …”
(Translation from “Jewish Life and Thought Among Greeks and Romans: Primary Readings,” Louis Feldman and Meyer Reinhold, 1996.)
In their paper, Shamir and Sukenikalso point to another ancient writer, Philo of Alexandria, who wrote that the Essenes wore a common style of simple dress.
“And not only is their table in common but their clothes also. For in winter they have a stock of stout coats ready and in summer cheap vests, so that he who wishes may easily take any garment he likes, since what one has is held to belong to all and conversely what all have one has.”
(Translation from the “Selected Writing of Philo of Alexandria,” edited by Hans Lewy, 1965.)
Cargill said that the clothing is further evidence that there was a Jewish sectarian group living at Qumran.
“You do have evidence of a group that raised its own animals, pressed its own date honey, that appears to have worn distinctive clothes and made its own pottery, and followed its own calendar, at least a calendar different from the temple priesthood,” he said. “Those are all signs of a sectarian group.”
He also noted the presence of mikveh (ritual baths) at the site and the fact that the residents could make pottery that was ritually pure.
This group appears to have wanted to separate itself from the priests based at the temple in Jerusalem. “There is a congruency within many of the sectarian documents that appears to be consistent with a sectarian group that has separated itself from the temple priesthood in Jerusalem,” Cargill said.
According to Cargill’s theory, the people of Qumran would have written some of the scrolls, while collecting others. “Obviously they didn’t write all of the scrolls,” Cargill said. Dating indicates some of the scrolls were written before Qumran even existed. One unusual scroll, made of copper, may have been deposited after Qumran was abandoned in A.D. 70.
Cargill says it’s possible that some of the scrolls may have been put in caves from people outside the community. If that’s true, some of the textiles could also be from people outside of Qumran.
“[If] not all of the Dead Sea Scrolls are the responsibility of sectarians at Qumran then it would follow that not all of the textiles that are discovered in the caves are [the] product of a sect at Qumran,” Cargill said.
Were there women at Qumran?
The new research may alsoshed light on who created the textiles.
The textiles are of high quality and, based on the archaeological finds at Qumran itself, where there is little evidence of spindle whorls or loom weights, the team thinks it’s unlikely they would have been made at the site.
“This is very, very important, because this is connected to gender,” Shamir said, “spinning is connected with women.”
She explained that the textiles were likely created at another site in Israel, with women playing a key role in their production. This suggests that there were few women living at Qumran itself. “Weaving is connected with men and women, but spinning was only a production of women, [and] we don’t find this item at Qumran.”