Archive for March, 2015

DOWN MEMORY LANES OF FURURE PROPHECY OF ISRAEL’S FLIGHT FROM JERUSALEM – NUMBER 1

Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

DOWN MEMORY LANES OF FUTURE PROPHECY FLIGHT

FROM JERUSALEM THROUGHT THE MOUNT OF OLIVES

TO AZAL, THEN SOUTH TO THE MOUNTAINS OF NEGEV

AND  THEN LIVE THERE FOR ALMOST 3 & 1/2 YEARS!

March 4, 2015

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Number 1

Zechariah 14:1-5 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. [3] Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.  [4] And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. [5] And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

After I wrote my fist three book in the seventies, the city Azal was finally located by two geologists by two Israeli geologists.

Between 1873 and 1874, Clermont-Ganneau explored many tombs in a valley immediately south of Jerusalem, which the peasants of Silwan called Wady Yasul. Based on geographic and linguistic evidence, Clermont-Ganneau proposed that Wady Yasul is Azal.  Currently, this valley is bordered on the west by the Jerusalem Peace Forest and the neighborhood of Talpiot, on the north by the Abu Tor neighborhood on the southern slope of the Hill of Evil Council, and on the south by the neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber on the ridge where the former UN headquarters sits. The mouth of the valley lies at the base of the southernmost summit of the Mount of Olives (Mount of Corruption). Its Hebrew name is Nahal Atzal.

This is evidence Clermont-Ganneau’s theory of Zechariah 14:5 is correct.

In 1984, Israeli geologists Daniel Wachs and Dov Levitte identified the location of a large landslide on the Mount of Olives that is directly adjacent to both Wady Yasul (Nahal Atzal) and the area of the ancient King’s Gardens at the juncture of the Hinnom and Kidron Valleys.  Wachs’ and Levitte’s discovery validates Jewish historian Flavius Josephus‘ account of an earthquake-caused landslide during King Uzziah‘s reign blocking up the kings’ gardens in the valley.  It also accords with the rendering of Zechariah 14:5, which states a valley will be blocked up as far as Azal.

Additionally, the Israelis named this valley (Atzal, or Etsel), which is the same Hebrew spelling of Azal

Begin Memory Lane Archive Prophecy Update of 12 Years Ago

July 26, 2003

Zechariah Exposition 13:8 to 14:16

Part 1

There are many principles in prophetic writings of which one must be aware when attempting to interpret them.  Perhaps the first, and most basic of these principles, is the awareness that all the chapter and verse divisions in the KJV were made by the King James translators.  I am glad they made the divisions, but the awareness that Zechariah wrote it as a continuous narrative, without chapter and verse divisions, is a great help in analyzing a passage for the purpose of correlation with preceding and subsequent verses.

After graduation from seminary I changed my viewpoints, concerning the interpretation of a couple of verses in Zechariah 14, because of the continuous narrative principle.  In point, I changed my mind on the time frame of Zechariah 14:4,5, which I had long believed referred to the 2nd Advent, that is, the coming of the Lord at the end of what is called the tribulation period.  I believed it referred to the 2nd Advent because of the last phrase in verse five: “and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.”  I came to believe that this phrase belongs time wise to verse six.  If so, verse six would read: “And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.  And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark.”  (See Birth Pang 20 for verses four and five, and Birth Pangs 9 through 11 for verses six and seven)

Zechariah 14:4-7 – And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. [5] And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: [6] And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: [7] But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. (Verses 6 and 7 occur 1260 days after verses 4 and 5, and correlate with Matthew 24:29,30)

Matthew 24:29,30 – Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

A seminary teacher, whom I love and greatly admire, took me aside after he heard my first lecture 24 years ago, and pointed out to me the splitting of the Mount of Olives occurs some 1260 days before Armageddon.  After considering what he said, I changed my mind, coming to the conclusion he was correct.

With all this in mind, please consider the following exposition of the book of Zechariah from 13:8 to 14:16.

Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

“All the land” refers to Israel.  Two-thirds of its population will perish.  The remaining one-third will survive the vicious attack, and will remain in the southern Negev wilderness of Israel for some 1260 days.  If the attack happens to occur at some point in time between 2005 and 2008, this would mean between 1.7 and 1.9 million Jews would make it into the Negev alive.

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Land of Magog Peoples come down on Israel at the Final Battle of Armageddon!

Monday, March 2nd, 2015

Land of Magog Peoples come down on Israel at last Armageddon Battle!

Whoever is Prime Minister of Russia Joins Antichrist Late in 1335 Days.

If Putin has not been assassinated he will lead Russia down at that Time

March 2, 2015

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

BEGIN OCTOBER 5, 2011 ARCHIVE BLOG

People from the land of Magog Stretched from the Ukraine To Mongolia

When Prophet Ezekiel was inspired by God to write End Time Prophecy

Land of Magog People (Sythians) join Meshech & Tubal At Armageddon

I’m very confident Putin is likely to lead them when Gog, the Antichrist

Chief Prince of Meshech & Tubal asks him to come to help in Last Battle

To annihilate all the Remnant of Israel trapped in the Negev Wilderness

October 5, 2011

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

PUTIN UNITING EXCERPT FOLLOWS EZEKIEL HEADING EXPOSITION

Ezekiel 38:1,2 – “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.” Gog (high extension) appears for the first time in Ezekiel.  He is the Anti-christ of whom so much has been written. 

Please note that he is identified as the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.”  Many commentators, especially in the last 100 years, have not identified him as the Antichrist, but have identified him as the ruler or chief prince of the land of Magog, which I do not believe Scripture justifies.  Before the 20th Century, most identified him as the Antichrist. In verse 2 Ezekiel is told to set his face against two separate things, a person and a place.  The person is Gog (Antichrist), and the place is the land of the descendants of Magog where it existed in Ezekiel’s day.  If we do not locate the territories of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal as they existed in Ezekiel’s day, then we can have no idea as to where the Antichrist will soon rear his head, or the area from which his attack will be launched.  More than 2500 years have slipped by since Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, and the bloodlines of all three men been distributed across the entire planet.  In order to correctly identify the area, from whence the Antichrist will attack Israel, we must identify where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were residing in 500 and 600 B.C.  Why?  Because the Antichrist is not the chief prince of Magog, he is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.  He will come from the area where their descendants were settled in 500 and 600 B.C.

I will attempt to use two different sources to locate where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were clustered at the time of Ezekiel’s writings.  The first is found in the 27th chapter of Ezekiel, and the second is from the Assyrian monument stones of that period. Ezekiel 27:3 – “And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.”  Tyrus (Tyre) was a seaport on the southern coast of what we know today as Lebanon, which is directly north of Israel.  Tyrus built its first great sea wall to protect its harbored ships more than 3000 years ago, and was a thriving seaport in Ezekiel’s day.  Its ships carried merchandise from the countries of the east across all the Mediterranean, and even as far north as the shores of the English Channel.  Zidon (Sidon) was also a sea port, and less than 20 miles separated the two cities.  The wise men of Tyrus were the navigators of the ships, and the men of Zidon were the deck hands, as portrayed in Ezekiel 27:8 – “The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.”  Now, bearing all this in mind, let us look at Ezekiel 27:13 – “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.”  Meshech and Tubal were warlike tribes, who often took their captives (persons of men) and the vessels of brass they had captured, or hammered out themselves, and carried them to the  NEAREST seaport for trading.  The captives were, of course, loaded on the ships and sold as slaves in foreign ports of trade.  Why the NEAREST seaport?  Because, in Ezekiel’s day, travel was by foot, donkey, camel, and horse.  People always carried their trading goods to the nearest port, particularly slaves.  Therefore, I conclude that Meshech and Tubal must have roamed in the area we know today as Syria, Lebanon, northwestern Iraq, and southern Turkey.  Meshech and Tubal are the Mushki and Tabali of the Assyrian stone monuments.  In the time of Sargon and Sennacherib (700 B.C.) the territory of Tubal adjoined southern Cilicia, while that of Meshech filled the highlands to the east of Tubal.  Considering the locations derived from the Bible and stone tablets, it appears that the Antichrist, as the chief prince of the area once occupied by Meshech and Tubal, is likely to arise, and eventually to attack Israel, from Syria or Lebanon.  And, since Lebanon is virtually controlled by Syria, it appears Syria is the best guess for his homeland.

THE ANTICHRIST IS GOG, THE CHIEF PRINCE OF MESHECH & TUBAL

But what about the land of Magog?  Where were the Magogites settled in Ezekiel’s day?  and what did the Gentile kings of the north and Europe call them?

THE LAND OF MAGOG WAS THE HOME OF MAGOGITES (SYTHIANS)

Ezekiel 38:1-3 – “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, [3] And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:”

I established, from the Scriptures and the Assyrian stone monuments, that the descendants of Meshech and Tubal, at the time Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, were primarily located in what we know as Syria and Lebanon.  We also established that the prophecy is again a person, Gog (Antichrist), and against a land, the land of Magog.  I am convinced that the Antichrist will attack Israel from Syria.  Now, what about the “land of Magog?”  Where were the Magogites located at the time of Ezekiel’s writings?  Flavius Josephus, a noted Jewish historian makes the following statements concerning the Magogites in Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter VI, under the title,  HOW EVERY NATION WAS DENOMINATED FROM THEIR FIRST INHABITANTS:  “Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons.”  “They called the nations by their own names.”  “Magog founded those that from him were called Magogites, but who by the Greeks (Gentiles)  were called Scythians.”

The Greek writers of the Classic Age said the Scythians occupied the area which today we identify as stretching from Moldova eastward across the Ukraine, southern Russia, and into Kazakhstan, then southward into Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and finally into northwestern China and Mongolia.   I do not believe the nations in this area will join in the initial attack against Israel, but I am certain they will come down for the final battle of Gog’s war, which is the Battle of Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon, found in Revelation 16:16, is the final battle in Gog’s war, which began 3 and ½ years earlier.

Verse 3 fails to include the “land of Magog,” and is a message directly pointed, and personally addressed, against the Antichrist Gog, who once again is identified as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.  Popular writers in the last century brought a teaching into play that is simply not true.  They said the word “chief” was “rosh” in the Hebrew language, which is true.  But they said it meant “Russian,” which is not true.  The Russian and Hebrew language have never overlapped in history to support such a claim.  He is not a Russian prince.  He is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, most likely having a Syrian father.  The word “rosh,” in the KJV, is translated as “chief” 90 times, as “head” 349 times, as “top” 75 times, as “beginning” 14 times, as “company” 12 times, as “captain” 10 times, as “sum” 9 times, as “first” 6 times, as “principle” 5 times, as “chief man” 4 times, and as “ruler” on two occasions.  At no time, in all of history, could it legitimately be identified as someone who is a Russian.

This chief prince of Meshech and Tubal will come from either northwestern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, or southern Turkey, but I will be very much surprised if his father is not from a country that was once a part of the ancient Assyrian Empire.  He will be the leader of multilateral Arab forces that will carry out a surprise attack against Israel from the north.  I believe this is spoken of in Revelation 17:12,13 – “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”

Although he will have the support of ten Arab nations, I believe the nations directly involved in the initial attack will be Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran from without, and the Palestinians from within.  I believe the other nations, which will then immediately become involved in the Jihad, are most likely Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan.

Begin Excerpt from Associated Memo via AP and World News

Putin Proposes Creating ‘Eurasian Union’

Tue, 10/04/2011 – 9:25am — Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed forming a “Eurasian Union” of former Soviet nations, saying the bloc could become a major global player competing for influence with the United States, the European Union and Asia.

Putin, who has lamented the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century,” denied that his proposal represents an attempt to rebuild the Soviet empire.

But he said in an article published Tuesday in the daily Izvestia that the new alliance should emerge as “one of the poles of the modern world, serving as an efficient link between Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region.”

Putin, who is all but certain to reclaim the presidency in March’s election, has been accused of rolling back Russia’s post-Soviet democratic achievements during his two terms as president in 2000-2008. He has remained Russia’s de-facto leader after shifting into the premier’s job due to a term limit, and his protege and successor Dmitry Medvedev proposed last month that Putin run for president.

“There is no talk about rebuilding the USSR in one way or another,” Putin said. “It would be naive to try to restore or copy something that belongs to the past, but a close integration based on new values and economic and political foundation is a demand of the present time.”

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan already have formed an economic alliance that has removed customs barriers in mutual trade during the past summer. They are to introduce unified market rules and regulations starting Jan. 1. Putin said that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are expected to join the grouping.

“We aren’t going to stop at that and are putting forward an ambitious task of reaching a new, higher level of integration with the Eurasian Union,” Putin said. “Along with other key players and regional structures, such as the European Union, the United States, China and the Asia Pacific Economic Community, it should ensure stability of global development.”

Russia has long called for stronger cooperation between ex-Soviet nations, but earlier attempts at forging closer ties between them have failed due to sharp economic differences. Many former Soviet nations have looked westward and remain suspicious of Moscow’s intentions, setting a rocky path to Putin’s “Eurasian Union.”

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, considered more Russia-friendly than his pro-Western predecessor, has continued to focus on closer relations with the European Union, shattering Moscow’s hopes for luring Ukraine into its orbit. Yanukovych complained last month that the Kremlin was trying to coerce Ukraine into joining the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and said that he wouldn’t yield to pressure.

Even Russia’s ties with its closest ally, Belarus, has been marred by tensions. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose government is struggling with a spiraling financial crisis, has staunchly resisted Moscow’s push for controlling stake in Belarus’ top state-controlled industrial assets.

Putin’s plan also comes in potential competition with the Eastern Partnership, an initiative launched two years ago by Poland and Sweden, which aims to deepen European Union integration with six ex-Soviet nations: Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Putin argued that deeper integration between ex-Soviet nations shouldn’t contradict their aspirations to forge closer ties with the EU.

Some observers said that Putin’s article heralds what could become a top policy goal after his return to presidency. “From the geopolitical viewpoint it represents an attempt to revive the USSR,” Alexander Dugin, a political scholar and a longtime proponent of Russian expansionism, said in comments in online news agency Nakanune.

Others were skeptical. Dmitry Oreshkin, an independent political expert, said on Ekho Moskvy radio that Putin’s proposal was merely a campaign trick aimed at voters nostalgic about the Soviet past.

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A Courageous Israel Prime Minister is Surrounded by Enemies and Loyalties are Shifting in Islamic Nations and Terror Groups!

Monday, March 2nd, 2015

A courageous Israeli Prime Minister is Surrounded by Enemies

To His North a Syrian Wolf and the Hizbullah Terrorist Military

In Far North A Russian Bear Putin, Ruler Of The Land of Magog

In the Far East A Chinese Dragon And A North Korean Madman

In Immediate East Iraq AND A Evil Islamic Terrorist State Iran

In Immediate West Hamas Controlled Gaza & A Terrorist Libya

In the Far West the Obama Administration has turned on Israel

Leaving Natanyahu on a national ground zero for Iran’s Nukes

Shifting Among Individual Men And Groups In The Middle East

Is increasing as Air Strikes Scatter to weaken ISIS & al-Qaeda,

Antichrist will be able to UNITE most Terrorist Groups in Syria

And he will attack Israel as the King of the North in Daniel 11:40

See Diagram 321 in our Prophecy Update Archives on Web Page!

It’ll activate (begin) in the next US Administration After Obama,

In Greater Syria After the Antichrist Rises there to Attack Israel,

That BEGINS the FINAL 1335 Days of Daniel’s 70 Weeks of Years.

Rapture Occurs When Trumpet 7 Sounds During Last 1335 Days.

March 2, 2015

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Excerpt from YNET NEWS

US backed Syrian rebel group dissolves, merges with Islamist after losses

Hazzm, one of largest remaining non-jihadist Syrian rebel groups, decides to merge with Islamists rebels with which they have fought for weeks.

Associated Press

March 1, 2015

One of the main western-backed rebel groups announced on Sunday that it had dissolved itself and joined a larger Islamist alliance, weeks into a battle which saw it lose ground And men to more powerful al Qaeda insurgents.

Hazzm is one of the last remnants of non-jihadist opposition to President Bashar Assad in northern Syria, much of which has been seized by the Nusra Front and Islamic State, an Offshoot of al-Qaeda.

The statement posted online said its fighters would join the Shamiyah Front, an alliance of Islamist brigades in Aleppo, to prevent further bloodshed

The decision comes after heavy weekend fighting between it and the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s official Syria wing. Both Hazzm, which is part of the Free Syria Army collection of mainstream rebel groups, and Nusra fight the government.

Hazzm has received what it describes as small amounts of military aid from foreign states opposed to Assad, including US-made anti-tank missiles. But it has lost ground to better armed and financed jihadists.

On Saturday, the Nusra Front drove Hazzm out of a strategic northern Regiment 46 base in Aleppo province and killed around 30 of its fighters, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict.

The weakness of the mainstream Syrian opposition has complicated diplomatic efforts to end the conflict that has killed around 200,000 people.

United Nations peace mediator Staffan de Mistura met with Syrian officials on Saturday and Sunday to discuss a freeze in the fighting in Aleppo.

He said Damascus would announce the start date of the local ceasefire. His office said on Sunday a mission had been sent to Aleppo to ensure humanitarian aid could increase significantly once the freeze was announced, and to monitor any violation of the freeze.

Begin Excerpt 2 from the Guarding

Middle East and North Africa

Netanyahu arrives in US to oppose Iran nuclear deal

More than 30 Democrats threaten to boycott Israeli prime minister’s planned speech in Congress

Dan Roberts in Washington, Mairav Zonszein in Jerusalem and Oliver Laughland in New York

Sunday 1 March 2015 18.53 EST Last modified on Sunday 1 March 2015 20.01 EST

Israel and the US are bracing this week for the most strained moment in relations since Barack Obama came to power, after the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, arrived in Washington on Sunday night to urge Congress to oppose a nuclear deal with Iran.

As he flew out of Ben Gurion airport, Netanyahu described his 48-hour trip to Washington as “a fateful, even historic mission”, which is to culminate in a controversial speech to Congress in which he will speak out against an emerging pact with Iran over its nuclear programme.

“I feel deep and sincere concern for the security of Israel’s citizens and for the fate of the state and of all our people,” he said. “I will do everything in my power to ensure our future.” Netanyahu will address the American Israel public affairs committee (Aipac) on Monday, before delivering his speech to Congress on Tuesday.

Dozens of Democrats are threatening to boycott the address and the White House will get its retaliation in first at Aipac on Monday when national security adviser Susan Rice urges Israel to give the benefit of the doubt to the international talks, which are aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, rather than pursue what she has a called a destructive intervention.

“There is no question that the way the [Netanyahu] speech has come about has created a great deal of upset among Democrats in Congress … it’s created some upset outside Capitol Hill and frankly it may have upset some people in this room,” Howard Kohr, Aipac chief executive, told the commitee’s opening session.

I believe Israel is a lot safer with an agreement that’s agreed to by all of the big powers including ourselves

Senator Dianne Feinstein

“All of us should be concerned that care so deeply about the bipartisan support for the US-Israel relationship, but … when the leader of our greatest ally in the region comes to Washington to talk about the greatest challenge of our time, we urge members of Congress to hear what he has to say.”

Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday tried to calm tensions ahead of the speech but insisted the Obama administration’s diplomatic record with Iran entitles the US to “the benefit of the doubt” as negotiators work toward a long-term nuclear deal.

Kerry said in an interview broadcast before he arrived in Switzerland for talks with Iran’s foreign minister on Monday that Netanyahu was welcome to speak in the US and that the administration did not want the event “turned into some great political football”.

More than 30 Democrats have threatened to skip the speech but even those planning to attend are angry that Netanyahu claims to be a “representative of the entire Jewish people” on the issue.

“He doesn’t at all speak for me on this,” Senator Dianne Feinstein told CNN on Sunday. “I think it’s a rather arrogant statement. I think the Jewish community is like any other community; there are different points of view.

“I happen to believe Israel is a lot safer with an agreement that’s agreed to by all of the big powers including ourselves, than it is if there is no agreement and if Iran decides to breakout. Then Israel attacks Iran, Iran attacks back, then what happens?”

The warning was echoed by the US administration, which has refused to send any representative to the speech or meet Netanyahu at the White House.

 Begin Excerpt 2 from the Guarding

Middle East and North Africa

Netanyahu arrives in US to oppose Iran nuclear deal

More than 30 Democrats threaten to boycott Israeli prime minister’s planned speech in Congress

Dan Roberts in Washington, Mairav Zonszein in Jerusalem & Oliver Laughland in New York

Sunday 1 March 2015 18.53 EST Last modified on Sunday 1 March 2015

Israel and the US are bracing this week for the most strained moment in relations since Barack Obama came to power, after the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, arrived in Washington on Sunday night to urge Congress to oppose a nuclear deal with Iran.

As he flew out of Ben Gurion airport, Netanyahu described his 48-hour trip to Washington as “a fateful, even historic mission”, which is to culminate in a controversial speech to Congress in which he will speak out against an emerging pact with Iran over its nuclear programme.

“I feel deep and sincere concern for the security of Israel’s citizens and for the fate of the state and of all our people,” he said. “I will do everything in my power to ensure our future.” Netanyahu will address the American Israel public affairs committee (Aipac) on Monday, before delivering his speech to Congress on Tuesday.

Dozens of Democrats are threatening to boycott the address and the White House will get its retaliation in first at Aipac on Monday when national security adviser Susan Rice urges Israel to give the benefit of the doubt to the international talks, which are aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, rather than pursue what she has a called a destructive intervention.

“There is no question that the way the [Netanyahu] speech has come about has created a great deal of upset among Democrats in Congress … it’s created some upset outside Capitol Hill and frankly it may have upset some people in this room,” Howard Kohr, Aipac chief executive, told the commitee’s opening session.

I believe Israel is a lot safer with an agreement that’s agreed to by all of the big powers including ourselves

Senator Dianne Feinstein

“All of us should be concerned that care so deeply about the bipartisan support for the US-Israel relationship, but … when the leader of our greatest ally in the region comes to Washington to talk about the greatest challenge of our time, we urge members of Congress to hear what he has to say.”

Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday tried to calm tensions ahead of the speech but insisted the Obama administration’s diplomatic record with Iran entitles the US to “the benefit of the doubt” as negotiators work toward a long-term nuclear deal.

Kerry said in an interview broadcast before he arrived in Switzerland for talks with Iran’s foreign minister on Monday that Netanyahu was welcome to speak in the US and that the administration did not want the event “turned into some great political football”.

More than 30 Democrats have threatened to skip the speech but even those planning to attend are angry that Netanyahu claims to be a “representative of the entire Jewish people” on the issue.

“He doesn’t at all speak for me on this,” Senator Dianne Feinstein told CNN on Sunday. “I think it’s a rather arrogant statement. I think the Jewish community is like any other community; there are different points of view.

“I happen to believe Israel is a lot safer with an agreement that’s agreed to by all of the big powers including ourselves, than it is if there is no agreement and if Iran decides to breakout. Then Israel attacks Iran, Iran attacks back, then what happens?”

The warning was echoed by the US administration, which has refused to send any representative to the speech or meet Netanyahu at the White House.

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