What Does the U.S. Embassy Move to Jerusalem Mean?

The U.S. State Department has implemented President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. What does this move mean for the U.S., Israel and the world?

Palestinian protesters during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel on May 14, 2018.

On May 14, 1948, the world watched as David Ben-Gurion, one of Israel’s founding fathers and its first prime minister, declared the independence of the newly formed State of Israel. A mere 11 minutes later, U.S. President Harry S. Truman officially recognized Israel, making the U.S. the first nation to do so. The two nations have continued to have close ties ever since.

Formal diplomatic relations with Israel were established less than a year later with the appointment of an ambassador. But the U.S. embassy was located in Tel Aviv. Over the years, the location of the embassy was a source of controversy because Israel declared Jerusalem to be its “eternal capital”—something that was not yet officially recognized by the United States (and most of the world).

A promise of change.

It wasn’t until 1995 that the U.S. Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which declared that “Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel.” For the last 23 years, nearly every U.S. president has verbally acknowledged this, but none took the definitive step of moving the embassy.

That all changed last December when President Donald Trump directed the State Department to begin the process of moving the embassy to Jerusalem as soon as possible. This move brought expected condemnation from all over the Arab world. It was also condemned as unnecessarily provocative by other nations like Britain, France, Sweden, Italy and Japan.

The world watches a new embassy open.

Nonetheless, on May 14 of this year, 70 years (almost to the minute) after Mr. Ben-Gurion’s declaration of independence, the current U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, spoke at the opening ceremony of the new embassy building in the city of Jerusalem. In that speech he said:

“Today, we keep our promise to the American people, and we extend to Israel the same right that we extend to every other nation, the right to designate its capital city. A capital city, I should add, which houses all three seats of government, with a 3,000-year-old history dating back to the time when King David made Jerusalem the capital of ancient Israel.”

This move has put Jerusalem once again on the front page of world news. And once again, we see that no one knows how to bring about peace in Jerusalem or virtually anywhere in the Middle East! No matter what choice might be considered—a two-state solution, a divided Jerusalem, going back to the 1948 borders, or other more radical or extreme ideas—none of them will bring about peace.

Will it spark further violence?

As anger, resentment and unrest grow, demonstrations are likely to become more violent.Just hours after the embassy’s opening, an Iranian terror group known as the Iranian Justice Seeker Student Movement offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who bombs the newly opened embassy. Unfortunately, attacks against diplomats and embassies have been a regular part of terror tactics in the past, so security personnel take such threats very seriously. All one has to do is remember past attacks at embassies and consulates in Benghazi, Beirut, Nairobi and Karachi, just to name a few.

As Israel celebrates the move of the U.S. embassy, tension is growing in other places. In the Gaza Strip, a narrow patch of land between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, thousands of Palestinians struggle with limited basic resources, unemployment as high as 60 percent among young people and a growing sense of hopelessness. They feel as if the world—especially Israel and the U.S.—have abandoned them.

As anger, resentment and unrest grow, demonstrations are likely to become more violent—as they did on the day of the embassy’s dedication. As thousands of Palestinians rushed the border barricades separating Gaza from Israel, Israeli troops opened fire, fatally wounding 60 Palestinians.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to be the world’s biggest unsolvable problem.

Violence begets violence.

Jerusalem, the City of Peace, has inspired anything but peace for most of its 3,000-year history. Current events will only add to the violence and death that history has already recorded.

The prophet Zechariah was inspired to write: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:2-3).

It is important that we continue to watch developments in our world. Trends show we are drawing closer to the end of this age and to the time when God will intervene in human affairs. As terrifying as the end times will be, the end result will be the establishment of the peaceful Kingdom of God here on earth.

Only the rule of Yeshua-Jesus will solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! (By Tom Clark)… Tom Clark married his lovely wife, Mary, in 1985. They have three grown children and three grandchildren (with more on the way)! Tom was ordained a minister in 1989 and has served congregations in Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota and North Dakota. He currently pastors the Bentonville, Van Buren and Mena, Arkansas, congregations of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities in the United States, he serves overseas as the senior pastor for congregations in Ghana, West Africa, where he has worked since 2006. He usually travels to Ghana for pastoral visits three times a year, spending roughly five to six weeks there throughout the year.

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/what-does-the-u.s.-embassy-move-to-jerusalem-mean/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-98h9eHUYgAL6Uo8LT6ZFlA1h1FmCHCMWRefTtG0-S27353rPhtyOyRxIJy-7W1yM4uJyOe9U8r9YohK5hE-X347dzusw&_hsmi=2&utm_content=72182159&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

How to soothe joint pain with lemon peels.

Lemon has become an indispensable fruit in modern diets, not only because of its versatility and delicious taste, but also because of its multiple health benefits.

High vitamin C content, in combination with other nutrients and antioxidants make lemon effective in preventing many diseases such as: colds, flu, laryngitis, bacterial infection, hypertension, digestive problems, skin diseases etc. .

Lemons are rich in C, A, B1 and B6 vitamins, magnesium, bioflavonoids, pectin, folic acid, phosphorus, calcium and potassium. The lemon’s nutrients support the immune system, protect the stomach and the liver and prevent premature skin aging due to free radicals.

If you want to use lemon peels to soothe joint pain, you might want to try the following recipe.

Ingredients:

– extra virgin olive oil

– 2 large organic lemons

– eucalyptus leaves

– a small jar with lid

– gauze

Preparation:

Peel the lemons using a knife and put the peels in a jar, then add the olive oil to cover them completely. Add eucalyptus leaves. Close the jar well and allow the mixture to steep for two weeks.

After two weeks, pour a small amount on a piece of gauze and apply it over the painful area. Ideally, you should apply this treatment in the evening to allow the ointment to be absorbed into the skin overnight.

http://mybeautyhint.com/how-to-soothe-joint-pain-with-lemon-peels/ 

The Conversation: What’s the point of sex? It’s communication at a biological level

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Robinson Research Institute.

The act of penetrative sex has evolved over millions of years as a mechanism to deliver sperm to eggs and initiate pregnancy. But there’s more to sex than just the meeting of two sets of genes. The ‘What’s the point of sex?’ series examines biological, physical and social aspects of sex and gender.

Today’s piece looks at how a woman’s immune system responds to sexual intercourse and facilitates healthy pregnancy.

Most people think just one sperm is needed to fertilise a woman’s egg and make a healthy pregnancy. This underpins a common view that all the other sperm – and all the other sex – are surplus to requirements, at least when it comes to conceiving a pregnancy.

However, biologists now believe sexual intercourse is not just a sperm delivery process, but also a kind of biological communication. Regardless of whether fertilisation occurs, sperm and other components of the ejaculated fluid trigger subtle changes in the immune system of women.

This has consequences for pregnancy should it happen later. More broadly, the importance of regular sexual activity also has implications for fertility planning, and for IVF and other forms of assisted reproduction, which generally do not take sexual practice or history into account.

Sperm swim in a soup of molecular messages.

Evidence from animal research and clinical studies has led researchers to conclude seminal fluid – the fluid sperm are bathed in following ejaculation – plays an important role in fertility.

Seminal fluid contains small molecules that act as biological signals. Once deposited in the vagina and the cervix of a woman, these persuade the woman’s immune system to adopt a profile that tolerates (that is, recognises and accepts) sperm proteins known as “transplantation antigens”.

The tolerant profile matters if fertilisation takes place. Immune cells recognise the same transplantation antigens on the developing baby, and so support the process through which the embryo implants into the wall of the uterus and forms a healthy placenta and fetus.

So over time, repeated contact with the same male partner acts to stimulate and strengthen a tolerant immune response to his transplantation antigens. The immune system of a woman responds to her partner’s seminal fluid to progressively build the chances of creating a healthy pregnancy over at least several months of regular sex.

Some forms of infertility and disorders of pregnancy are caused by immune rejection, when the process of tolerance is not adequately established.

Healthier pregnancy after months of sex.

A condition known as preeclampsia provides useful insights into how exposure to seminal fluid influences the success of pregnancy. Preeclampsia is an inflammatory disorder of pregnancy that compromises growth of the fetus, and often causes prematurity in babies. It can be life-threatening for mothers if left untreated.

Preeclampsia is more common when there has been limited sexual contact with the father before pregnancy is conceived, and is associated with insufficient establishment of immune tolerance in the mother.

The length of time a couple have had a sexual relationship seems more important than the frequency of intercourse. In a study of first pregnancies in 2507 Australian women, around 5% developed preeclampsia. Affected women were more than twice as likely to have had a short sexual relationship (less than six months) compared to the women who had healthy pregnancies.

Women with less than three months sexual activity with the conceiving partner had a 13% chance of preeclampsia, more than double the average occurrence. Among the few women who conceived on the first sexual contact with the father, the chance of preeclampsia was 22%, three times higher than the average. Low birth weight babies were also more common in this group.

Sperm swim in a soup of molecules that trigger an immune response in women.
from www.shutterstock.com.
No relationship is observed between frequency of sexual activity during pregnancy and risk for preeclampsia, so it’s the duration of exposure before conception that counts most.

Setting up a profile of immune tolerance that supports healthy pregnancy seems to be specific to the conceiving partner. Women who change partners return to a baseline state, and must rebuild immune tolerance with the new partner.

Women who use barrier methods such as condoms or cervical caps (which lower the exposure of the vagina and cervix to seminal fluid and sperm), and then conceive shortly after stopping contraception, have an elevated risk of preeclampsia.

In contrast, women using an intrauterine device before conception have been found to have a slightly lower risk of preeclampsia.

Sex during IVF can increase conception chances.

The importance of sex in creating the right environment for healthy pregnancy is also observed in clinical studies in IVF and other methods of assisted reproduction. Fertility is improved when couples have intercourse in the period when an embryo is transferred to the uterus.

Combined data from more than 2000 patients across seven studies showed the occurrence of a detectable pregnancy increased by 24% after vaginal contact with seminal fluid near the time of egg collection or embryo transfer. A study of Australian and Spanish couples showed intercourse in the days just before or just after embryo transfer boosted pregnancy rates by 50%.

These studies focused on the early stages of pregnancy, with further research required to assess whether sexual intercourse influences rates of full term pregnancy after assisted reproduction.

Absence of exposure to seminal fluid may be one factor explaining why preeclampsia incidence is higher after use of donated eggs or donor sperm, where prior female contact with the donor transplantation antigens has not occurred. The elevated risk after using donor semen can be reduced if multiple prior insemination cycles take place with the same donor.

In couples who conceive using a modified version of IVF known as ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection), preeclampsia incidence is also higher in women who experience minimal exposure to their partner’s transplantation antigens due to very low sperm counts.

In some couples, an imbalance in seminal fluid composition or immune system factors may inhibit or slow down establishment of the tolerant immune profile in women. In other couples, there may be immunological incompatibility that impairs tolerance, regardless of time spent together.

Maybe some couples may just need a little longer having sex for pregnancy to occur.

Immune system acts as a gatekeeper in pregnancy.

It is interesting to consider why the immune system is so closely involved in reproduction.

One theory is that females have evolved the ability to sense and respond to the signals in seminal fluid, in order to discern the quality or “fitness” of the male partner’s genetics. Scientists are now seeking to define the key signals on the male and female sides that promote tolerance.

Also, since male smoking, being overweight and other factors may shape how a woman responds to intercourse in a biological sense, it helps explains why dad’s health is just as important as that of the mother in preparing for pregnancy.

(By Sarah Robertson, Professor and Director, Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide).

https://blogs.adelaide.edu.au/robinson-institute/2017/01/16/the-conversation-whats-the-point-of-sex-its-communication-at-a-biological-level/