Free Republic

Americans have always grown up believing we are the good guys. We fight the wars of the righteous, help the oppressed and free the world from despots and evil dictators. I am seriously wondering when all that had changed. Do I have to dig up John Wayne to do battle with evil? Isn’t anyone up to the challenge anymore? It is no longer an assumption that America is on the right side of history, because now it seems we are on the wrong one or can’t even find the sides at all. When good men ignore evil and allow it...

Will Hamilton Berger Ever Learn? I Hope Not! By Norma Zager “Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to.” Alfred A. Montapert How can a society that disdains lawyers and creates lawyer jokes have been so enamored of Perry Mason? Now an icon, Raymond Burr’s character was an instant legend with television watchers. Even the reruns are popular and continue today. So what was it about Erle Stanley Gardner’s character that made loyal fans tune in week after week to see Hamilton...

When three Israeli youths were kidnapped, Israel should have stood as one. A prayer vigil at the Western Wall, the holiest place in the world for Jews, was very well attended. Religious Jews (primarily “knitted yarmulkes,” Modern Orthodox) and “Settlers” (residents of Judea and Samaria) were present, but mainstream (secular) Israelis were noticeably absent. The President’s Message Shimon Peres, Israel’s ninth President, will retire next month after seven years of service. Peres, a dreamer, is likely one of the most captivating representatives of the Jewish State. He alone, from the height of his age and a life-long dedication to Israel,...

Praise the Lord and Pass the Putin By Norma Zager There is a rumor that a big Hollywood producer has approached Putin to do his own Reality Show. Why? Because Putin makes good TV. He is easily the most entertaining Russian leader since Khrushchev, who blustered and beat his shoes on desks. What a kick to watch. So what is it about Putin that makes him so much fun? After all, the moron in North Korea is an ignoramus and has definitely replaced Tattoo as the short funny guy on that Fantasy Island he inhabits. Yet, he still has the...

Twitter comments by Iran’s President boasting victories over the idiot countries of the world got me thinking. What if Hitler could have tweeted his thoughts after his conference with Chamberlain at Munich? Hmmm. Perhaps he would have said something like hashtag/Peace in our time. Sure, Right, LOL, or hashtag/Gotta love those Brits. Or maybe hashtag/Look out Jews ☺. However, I was quickly plagued by the thought that had Hitler tweeted his intent, would the world have cared or paid attention? Judging from the reaction to Iran’s tweets, apparently not. Hashtag/Oh those Mullahs, what kibitzers! I will refrain from Brits-bashing in...

“I have often wondered what Jews or decent people could have done to push back against the anti-Semitic propaganda of 1930s Germany,” says my friend, Dr. Roberta Seid, the historian and scientific advisor of Stand With Us. Seid was describing an event at my alma-mater, UCLA, where the speaker, Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, was “on the road again with his anti-Israel show and its pack of bigotry and lies.” I wholeheartedly recommend Seid’s opinion piece, “A Speaker who Brings Hate.” It is a must reading for anyone who has never attended an anti-Israel...

Christmas day is usually a pretty quiet affair for Jewish people. Most spend it as a day to relax and catch up, watch movies, go to friends, eat Chinese food, have family over or just simply listen to Christmas music and read the ads for the after-Christmas sales. I seem to find myself in a rather introspective mood this Yuletide season. Perhaps it is age creeping upon me, but I question the most basic issues, actually non-issues, and I can’t find answers. Perhaps others can supply the information I seek. First and foremost why is it that Christmas songs are...

What Shall I Tell My Grandchildren By Norma Zager “Second Star to the right and straight on till morning…” Directions to Neverland The anniversary of President Kennedy’s death forced me into a state of nostalgic self-examination and unanswered questions including one in particular; what shall I teach my grandchildren? It is indeed a conundrum to have reached a certain age and still be in search of an identity. Or perhaps be overwhelmed by the profusion of identities embraced then discarded throughout one’s lifetime. At this stage, I am left with the ultimate question plaguing me in my grandmother years; who...

Ultimately, only diplomacy can bring about a durable solution to the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program. As President and Commander-in-Chief, I will do what is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But I have a profound responsibility to try to resolve our differences peacefully, rather than rush towards conflict. Today, we have a real opportunity to achieve a comprehensive, peaceful settlement, and I believe we must test it. President Obama What was achieved last night in Geneva is not an historic agreement; it is an historic mistake. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu I am a patriotic...

Lonely at the Top By Ari Bussel I remember the look of then Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu at an underground command and control center in a city in Southern Israel crammed with foreign correspondents, when I introduced myself before asking my question, “Ari Bussel, Muslim World Today.” For those who know me, I am White Caucasian, and I look very much Western (some would say slightly “Middle Eastern”), although the most notable character is likely my unidentifiable, thick accent. But I definitely do not look like the representative of California-based Muslim World Today and Pakistan World Today. The readers of...

No One is as Naïve as our President Pretends By Norma Zager “The foreign policy of the United States is the way in which it interacts with foreign nations and sets standards of interaction for its organizations, corporations and individual citizens. The U.S. is highly influential in the world…” Wikipedia The American president is the most informed human being in the world. He is regularly updated on events occurring on this planet by every intelligence agency from here to Saturn, including the rings. For any American to believe he didn’t know the Muslim Brotherhood would rise to ultimate political power...

Why Israel Must Not Attack Iran By Ari Bussel There are two ways to fight an enemy’s military superiority: brut force or ingenuity. Modern Israel, the infant country, had neither the means nor the power against her Arab neighbors that sought her destruction. Greatly outnumbered, she survived against all odds. What was the secret to her success? She was driven to survive, and that was stronger than her enemies’ will to destroy her. Her enemies heard they were winning, even before the fighting started: The Egyptian army walking onto Tel Aviv, and the Jews surrendering. The Jews, however, had no...

A Very Stubborn People Indeed By Ari Bussel 2011 was a very bad year for Israel, and thus, by association, for the Jews. Israel and the Jews are indistinguishable, and anyone with a mistaken notion that being a foreign national might save that person from the fate of Israel – as if the two are separable – may find reality a very rude awakening. For instance, many American Jews claim they are “Americans first.” Their children are raised far removed from Israel, and a recent poll indicates that Israel’s continued existence is no longer crucial for them, essentially no longer...

Newt Gingrich’s Message is Anything But Political By Norma Zager “If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.” Albert Einstein. 
 Some women and men never learn. When a relationship is in trouble and one of the parties has told the other to take a hike, they continue pursuit. What part of “drop dead” do they not understand? What part of “the Palestinians want to destroy Israel” does the world not understand? Newt Gingrich is the messenger everyone wants to shoot for stating the truth. No one likes the truth if it interferes with a...

Islamic Madness—Are Arabs Stupid? By Ari Bussel Once the common belief was that Arabs are stupid. But they are not. For over a century they have tried to eliminate any Jewish presence from the Holy Land. They butchered the local Jewish population, let some time pass and always returned to their old habits. Much like the Pogroms in Europe, the massacres by the Arabs were consistent and brutal. When the global community officially recognized the Jewish right to self-determination in their ancient land, the Arabs were outraged. They engaged in numerous wars, were driven, thus relentless, to achieve their mission...

Guardian Angels By Ari Bussel I was sitting on a chair at Cedars, an IV sticking into my hand, a tray next to me with big bottles of medication to drink. Nurses were bringing in other patients, each waiting for another exam. We all sat next to each other on a row of chairs, somewhat reminiscent of a train station or a gate at an airport. Except we were in gowns, each assigned a staff member to accompany us during the procedures. A male nurse was busy with my tray, about to inject something into me. He handed me a...

A Divine Blessing By Ari Bussel “The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” Psalms 29:11 Israelis, is seems, need a lot of strength. Fatah and Hamas, two names for the same ill, have reconciled their “differences.” I would be hard-pressed to find any such differences, as in essence they both strive to eliminate the Jews from the Jewish homeland and to erase any historical connection thereof. Fatah, though, is the favorite child of the world, while the other is still referred to as a “terrorist organization.” At the very least it...

It’s All about Local Politics in 2012 By Norma Zager “All politics is local.” Tip O‘Neill The year of the 2012 election has officially begun. I am drawn to the quote from the former Speaker of the House. I take “local” to mean pertaining to self-interest. Now, we in America will be forced to decide what is in our best interests. To stay on our current path or head in a new direction that will lead to a more prosperous and stronger America. Of course there are those whom would argue the point with me rather voraciously. For what is...

Killing Jews is More Popular than Soccer By Norma Zager “Yet, nearly six decades after the Holocaust concluded, Anti-Semitism still exists as the scourge of the world.” Eliot Engel Jewish life comes cheap. Killing Jews is a blood sport practiced throughout the world. Sometimes it seems as though killers seek a prize for the most effective methods, the most kills. Giant trophies passed out among haters like chocolates at a PMS seminar. There have been other genocides, other people singled out for death, but one difference remains in place. No other sport is attended with such gusto, such outright enthusiasm...

A Simple Explanation of Generations By Ari Bussel How is this war different from all other wars, one asks. Israel has endured battles before, from its infancy as a modern country and repeatedly throughout its youth and adolescence. 1948. 1956. 1967. 1973. 1982. 2006. The last 18 years have seen a different type of war, one no less cruel, but seemingly more “understandable.” This is the period following the Oslo Accords, years of falling into the most sophisticated trap possible: our own mind playing against us. It is a trap from which we must escape and free ourselves, against all...