Free Republic

'The artists of the country are the people you need to communicate with and make a relationship with and learn from and build upon. So I absolutely don't believe in the boycott, and here I am.' Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren said Wednesday she was a "believer" in Israel and rejected efforts to boycott it. Mirren showered Israeli artists with praise and said she opposed both the efforts by pro-Palestinian groups to boycott them and the decision of some international artists to shun Israel. "I think that art is an incredibly important way of communication," she said at a press event...

Two delegates to the Democratic Party’s platform drafting committee — one appointed by Hillary Clinton and the other by Bernie Sanders — said the platform must reflect the hardships faced both by Israelis and Palestinians. [Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., appointed by Sanders and Clinton respectively, said] “Palestinians struggle under an unjust occupation that deprives them of the rights, opportunities and independence that they deserve. That is the reality of a conflict that has gone on for far too long and at a terrible cost.” The statement was released by J Street, the liberal Middle East policy...

Using funding from Western taxpayers, and Americans in particular, United Nations schools are teaching Arab children to glorify terrorism and wage constant war against their Jewish neighbors, according to a new film. In the explosive documentary released late last month by a pro-Israel watchdog group, schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) are even exposed offering military-style training to young children. That training, combined with a curriculum that teaches fervent hatred of Jews, is a recipe for disaster, the producer said, citing the recent wave of attacks. But now, U.S. lawmakers are speaking out, with media reports...

The Israeli military has demolished the home of the Palestinian terrorist who fatally stabbed American tourist and former U.S. Army officer Taylor Force in a terror attack back in March. Ten others were also wounded in the attack. The troops entered the West Bank village of Hajjah early on Tuesday to knock down the residence of Bashar Masalha. […] Force was a Vanderbilt University graduate student visiting Israel during a school trip. He previously graduated from West Point and served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Masalha was killed by police after the attack. The assault was part of...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible John The Gospels) (Mark 5) 21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed...

Gaza Arabs demand UN stop Israel's anti-terror tunnel wall, Media, Palestinian Authority misleading about Palestinian Teen mistakenly killed in 'Stone Throwing' incident, Japan military on alert for possible North-Korean ballistic missile launch, Brexit supporters say they're worried about immigration but the real problems are deeper, World Refugee Day: 65 million people affected, say U.N stats, six diseases return to US as migration advocates celebrate 'World Refugee Day', Analysis: Immigrants costs taxpayers up to £17 billion a year, Muslim migrants a threat to the LGBT Community, Obama admin deletes ISIS references from Orlando 911 calls, Christians gather together to remember the...

Study of 44 ancient Middle Eastern genomes supports idea of independent farming revolutions in the Fertile Crescent. Two Middle Eastern populations independently developed farming and then spread the technology to Europe, Africa and Asia, according to the genomes of 44 people who lived thousands of years ago in present-day Armenia, Turkey, Israel, Jordan and Iran. ...the research supports archaeological evidence about the multiple origins of farming, and represents the first detailed look at the ancestry of the individuals behind one of the most important periods in human history — the Neolithic revolution. Some 11,000 years ago, humans living in the...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible John The Gospels) (Mark 3) 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve[a] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,...

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today unanimously reversed a trial court’s ruling dismissing a fraud case brought against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The result of the appellate court’s ruling is that CAIR National, operating out of the District of Columbia, must stand trial and allow a jury to hear all of the evidence of the massive fraud and attempted cover up carried out by CAIR and perpetrated against hundreds of CAIR fraud victims. In January of last year, Judge Paul Friedman, the federal judge presiding over a five-year old lawsuit alleging...

I’ve been in New York this morning to attend a meeting organized by Dr. Ben Carson and others who invited Donald J. Trump to speak to evangelical Christian leaders from across the country. Governor Mike Huckabee was moderator and Mr. Trump answered questions on a wide range of issues. Dr. James Dobson asked the first question–he asked Mr. Trump what he would do concerning religious liberty issues. Mr. Trump said the number one thing he could do for religious liberty would be to appoint great Supreme Court justices and he reminded everyone that the next president could appoint up to...

MK accuses social media giants of tolerating incitement; former Mossad official: Social media the most important sphere for fighting terror. Former senior Mossad operative Uzi Shaya spoke today (Tuesday) at a conference entitled "Towards A New Law of War", held in Jerusalem by "Shurat Hadin", a human rights organization dedicated to taking legal action against terrorist groups and those who fund them, which is currently representing 20,000 Israelis in a lawsuit against none other than Facebook. "One of the most significant theatres of terrorism today is incitement in social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and others. The biggest problem is...

The Israeli government is considering a proposal to build an artificial island off the Gaza Strip that a top official says would give Palestinians living in the besieged enclave their one and only seaport — and maybe a hotel and an international airport, too. The Israeli minister of intelligence who is promoting the plan, Israel Katz, said the Jewish state is actively seeking financial partners for the $5 billion project. Katz mentioned the Saudis and Chinese as possible builders of the port — or maybe a mysterious Israeli entrepreneur. He declined to name names. ... He said the plan is...

This past year of presidential jockeying is a tableau painted by an electorate feeling so violated that it has cried out for a champion. The desperation encouraged statesmen and women to enter the contest, but was also an invitation to anyone with a penchant for publicity and power. Motivation behind both the call and some who responded to it should be cause for concern, and how we arrived at this point in history is the question that requires hard answers. Years of reversing our educational system from admiring America’s founding to disparaging it, has reaped a harvest of younger voters...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible John The Gospels) (Matthew 10) 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The former head of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad defends the country's treatment of al-Nusra Front fighters on the Syrian border. In this web extra, Efraim Halevy tells Mehdi Hasan that he is not concerned that Israel had treated fighters in Syria from al-Nusra Front, which some say is al-Qaeda's Syrian branch. ...

Israeli intelligence Chief, Major General Herzi Halevy, said that the last three months have been the most difficult for ISIS since its inception. In a speech delivered at “Herzliya” conference yesterday , Halevy explicitly said “Israel” does not want the situation in Syria to end with the defeat of ISIS “, the Israeli NRG site reported.

WASHINGTON -- Frustrated over a stall in an arms sale to Saudi Arabia, Obama once questioned the necessity of maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge in the region, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Monday. Panetta was confirming a report from Atlantic writer Jeffrey Goldberg, who attributed the claim to him in an article on Obama's foreign policy doctrine published last March. The former Pentagon chief said the White House, at the time, was deeply concerned that Israel was preparing to unilaterally strike Iran. Simultaneously, the administration was also hoping to complete with Riyadh a significant sale of fighter jets....

Republicans are seeking to drive a wedge into an issue that’s already emerging as a highly sensitive one in the Democratic platform: Israel. The latest salvo will come from the Republican Jewish Coalition this week, as the group—which is home to some of the biggest donors in GOP politics—launches an online advertising campaign attacking members of the Democratic National Committee’s platform drafting committee. The RJC plan, first shared with POLITICO, comes as Democrats are already grappling with the possibility that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will emerge as a major flashpoint at their national convention next month, given the sharp disagreements some...

Following the Orlando terror attack, Professor Ahmad Nofal of the University of Jordan said in his weekly program that gunman Omar Mateen was a "sick personality" with "perverse tendencies" and that "[homosexuality] is controlled and imposed upon the world by global Zionism, Allah's number one enemy on Earth." Professor Nofal added that Mateen "evoked the Western model of heroism," represented in the massacre of Native Americans. His address aired on the Jordanian Yarmouk TV channel on June 17. Ahmad Nofal: "(Omar Mateen) is a dramatic character that requires a film - a Hitchcock-style horror movie, like 'Psycho' from over 50...

The Israeli defense establishment calls it a game changer, and views it as the plane that will provide the country with unparalleled aerial capabilities against its enemies. On Wednesday, the IAF will move a step closer to deploying the F-35 Lightning II, one of the world’s most advanced stealth fighter jets, when the first of its fifth-generation warplanes is officially rolled out by manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Defense officials say the jets will transform Israel’s combat capabilities and significantly upgrade the air force’s ability to confront the threats posed to it, particularly by Hezbollah. Wednesday’s ceremony, to be attended by Defense...