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Demonstrators fell to the ground as protest leaders read names of Gaza casualties in Operation Protective Edge at rally Saturday.BOSTON – In a corner of America’s oldest public common, some 200 anti-Israel demonstrators held a so-called “die-in” Saturday to protest Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. For the third time in eight days, Boston police were forced to intervene when a small group of student Israel supporters was swarmed by demonstrators screaming anti-Semitic epithets and initiating physical contact, said students involved in the incident. The two-hour “die-in” on the Boston Common climaxed when protest leaders read the names of Palestinians...

"We’ve never had a crushing blow that hurt the other side’s the ability to launch missiles," Amidror said, adding that he believes the only way to achieve complete quiet is to "retake Gaza and be there for six months to a year to clean it out."

Bill Whittle makes the case for Israel as only he can. Direct link to YouTube video.

Kamal Al-Khatib, deputy head of the radical Islamic Movement in Israel headed by Raed Salah, said in a recent speech that Gaza “will rub Israel's nose in the mud.” The comments were made in a speech in Kafr Kanna, an Arab town located in the Galilee.

Hamas may be militarily outnumbered and outgunned by Israel, but it has the stamina and training to turn the Gaza ground invasion into a protracted urban war, experts warned Tuesday. Six days after Benjamin Netanyahu ordered ground forces across the border into Gaza, the death toll has climbed to more than 600 Palestinians and 29 Israeli soldiers - more than twice as many military casualties as in the last Gaza ground war of 2009. Hopes that the invasion by Israeli Defense Forces would swiftly end the tit-for-tat aerial exchange of Palestinian rockets and Israeli missiles look to have been dashed...

Within hours after most foreign airlines flying to Israel suspended flights, demand for seats on Israeli carriers — practically the only ones now left plying the routes — skyrocketed, and so did airfares. El Al, which earlier this week said it expected that a wave of cancellation by people travelling into and out of Israel would depress its third-quarter revenues by as much as $50 million, denied it was taking advantage of the situation.

US flights to Israel to resume after brief ban. Will European carriers follow suit? The US national aviation authority has lifted a ban on American flights to Israel, but warned of a "very fluid situation" amid intense fighting with Palestinians in nearby Gaza, AFP reports Thursday. "Hamas does have rockets that can reach Ben Gurion airport... although the accuracy of their rockets does remain limited," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Israel had warned of the economic impact of the ban by many world airlines and said that it would be a win for Hamas, who hailed the suspension as...

In his commentary for Wednesday’s Opinion page, UC San Diego communications professor Gary Fields rebukes those who talk or write about what is happening in Gaza while offering “a very simple picture of Hamas as an implacable aggressor, and the state of Israel as an innocent victim of terror.” But nowhere in his essay does Fields detail why Israel has acted as it has in Gaza since it bulldozed Jewish settlements and withdrew soldiers from the 140-square-mile territory in 2005. The narrative he ridicules — of Israel feeling compelled to defend itself against a terrorist neighbor bent on Israel’s destruction...

Russia, Israel Joining Efforts to Improve International Terrorism Law RIA Novosti July 23, 2014 MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) - At meetings in Jerusalem Russia’s Federation Council members, led by the council’s foreign affairs committee chairman Mikhail Margelov, raised the proposal for a unified approach to terrorism. “As lawmakers we could propose to the international organizations, first of all the UN, to finally define this term and the approach to eliminating terrorists,” Vladimir Kulakov, first deputy chairman of procedures committee and head of Russia’s delegation to the OSCE Parliamentarian Assembly, was quoted as saying by the statement. Russia’s Israeli counterparts...

Press Release – FAA Statement–FAA Lifts Flight Restrictions for Ben Gurion International Airport The FAA has lifted its restrictions on U.S. airline flights into and out of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport by cancelling a Notice to Airmen it renewed earlier today. The cancellation is effective at approximately 11:45 p.m. EDT. Before making this decision, the FAA worked with its U.S. government counterparts to assess the security situation in Israel and carefully reviewed both significant new information and measures the Government of Israel is taking to mitigate potential risks to civil aviation. The FAA’s primary mission and interest are the protection...

For the first time since an unprecedented diplomatic rift among Gulf powerhouses, Qatar's emir flew to Saudi Arabia late on Tuesday in a surprise visit and met with King Abdullah to discuss cease-fire efforts that have yet to bring an end to 15 days of war in the Gaza Strip. A senior Saudi official told The Associated Press that Saudi Crown Prince Salman, and Deputy Crown Prince Muqrin also attended the meetings with Qatar's Sheik Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the coastal city of Jeddah. King Abdullah's security adviser Prince Bandar bin Sultan and the king's son who heads the...

Jake Tapper ✔ @jaketapper Follow AIPAC says FAA "decision appears overly harsh and excessive." Because local armed conflicts would never bring down a passenger jet? 2:40 PM - 23 Jul 2014 Jake Tapper ✔ @jaketapper AIPAC says FAA "decision appears overly harsh and excessive." Because local armed conflicts would never bring down a passenger jet? Amanda Carpenter @amandacarpenter Follow @jaketapper Flights are still going to all kinds of dangerous places. Makes sense to ask how/why the decision was made.

ABU DHABI — Qatar could face Gulf Cooperation Council sanctions amid its support of Hizbullah and the Muslim Brotherhood. Officials and analysts said Qatar could be penalized by the GCC for Doha’s support of groups deemed threats to the region. The officials said the sanctions could include the closure of borders by Qatar’s neighbors. “Qatar could face sanctions imposed by the Gulf countries, including the closing of borders with Qatar, and air space to it if Doha doesn’t stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood,” Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, a leading United Arab Emirates analyst, said. On March 4, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and...

The all-clear had sounded in Nir Am quarter of an hour prior but soldiers were still walking the kibbutz's paths in helmets and full combat gear on Monday morning. The fact that two Hamas attack teams had emerged from a tunnel exit only a few hundred meters away from the fence and in the ensuing firefight killed four soldiers, including a battalion commander, before they were killed themselves, was hard to shake off. For three hours the members of the kibbutz and guests at the small motel (mainly journalists) had to remain indoors while the soldiers made sure no Hamas...

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Wednesday told United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Israel would not stand by while Qatar, which paid for the UN official’s private flight to the Middle East, continued to finance Hamas militants, and took Ban to task for the two UN-run schools found to be housing Hamas rockets in Gaza. In his last full day in office, Peres, a historically dovish leader, struck a defiant tone in a statement delivered to the media after meeting Ban at the President’s Residence, in Jerusalem. “Qatar does not have the right to send money for rockets and...

After the Federal Aviation Administration extended its ban on U.S. flights to Israel for another 24 hours Wednesday following reports of Hamas rockets falling close to the Tel Aviv airport, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) released a statement suggesting the decision had motives outside of just protecting the safety of American travelers. Asked about his statement at a briefing this afternoon, State Department spokesperson Marie Harf called his comments “ridiculous and offensive.” “Did President Obama Just Launch an Economic Boycott of Israel?” Cruz asked on his website, before answering his own question affirmatively. “The facts suggest that President Obama has just...

Important columns by former attorney general Michael Mukasey and Caroline Glick make the point that in Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, the main thing to focus on is not the missiles; it’s the tunnels. Perhaps more significantly, they demonstrate that the Obama administration, in its mulish appeasement of the Muslim Brotherhood-Sunni supremacist axis that even Islamic governments (indeed, even the Saudis) are shunning, is subverting a golden opportunity to achieve decisive victory over Hamas – the necessary precondition if there is ever to be a stable Israeli-Palestinian settlement. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Judge Mukasey explains that Hamas’s strategic...

Here's an idea the cabinet may find interesting: Within two or three days, when the IDF completes its work on the tunnels leading to Israeli territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon will announce that Operation Protective Edge has ended, and that a new operation is underway. From now on, Israel is taking initiative into its own hands: It is removing the ground forces, but if Hamas continues to launch rockets, it will pursue and even intensify the Air Force bombings, or the artillery fire. When it wants to, it will send ground forces back into Gaza....

Gulf emirate is branded the villain behind Hamas belligerence, with PM’s former security adviser saying it funds tunnel diggers and rocket launchers. President Shimon Peres accused Qatar on Wednesday of becoming “the world’s largest funder of terror” due to its financial support for Hamas in Gaza. “Qatar does not have the right to send money for rockets and tunnels which are fired at innocent civilians,” the outgoing statesman told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Jerusalem. “Their funding of terror must stop. If they want to build then they should, but they must not be allowed to destroy.” Qatar’s recently...

Hamas continues to be uncompromising in its position regarding an international cease-fire, AFP reports Wednesday. "We reject today and will reject in the future," Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal insisted, in a public speech in Qatar. Meshaal insisted that Israel must accept his list of unprecedented conditions for a cease-fire - which included lifting several security measures, such as the naval blockade and border control, designed to prevent terrorists entering into Israel, as well as re-releasing terrorists arrested earlier this month - and only then will Hamas deliberate with Israel on a date for a cease-fire. Meshaal claimed that the terms...

FULL TITLE: Ted Cruz: The facts suggest President Obama has just used the FAA to launch an ECONOMIC BOYCOTT on Israel…//// Sen. Ted Cruz ripped the president today for using a federal agency, the FAA, to launch an economic boycott on Israel in order to force them to comply with his demands. He pointed out that this economic boycott aids Hamas while simultaneously hurting Israel. What Cruz is calling for is the Obama administration to answer the following questions: Was this decision a political decision driven by the White House? If the FAA’s decision was based on airline safety, why...

Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday paid a shiva call to the parents of Max Steinberg, a Los Angeles native IDF soldier who was killed Sunday in Gaza, at the Crowne Palza hotel in Jerusalem. “It’s just a huge statement about a young guy finding a place that he was so passionate about, and giving his all, putting himself on the line,” Kerry told the Steinbergs. “It’s an amazing story.” “How’s your day?” Kerry asked them as he sat down, according to The Jewish Journal. “How’s your day?” Evie Steinberg asked back. “My day’s going better than yours,” he...

GENEVA, July 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday launched an international inquiry into human rights violations and crimes that may have been committed by Israel during its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the Israeli assault which it said had involved "disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks", including aerial bombing of civilian areas, collective punishment, and the killing of more than 650 Palestinians. At the end of an emergency session, the 47-member forum adopted a resolution presented by Palestinians by a vote of 29 states in favor, 1 against (the United States) with 17...

Qatar hosts three major US military bases on its territory. And it is becoming one of the most important clients for US military contractors. Earlier this year Qatar signed an $11.4 billion dollar arms agreement with the US. At the same time, according to the Calacalist report, Qatar is the major bankroller of ISIS and al Nusra in Syria and Iraq. It gives $50 million a month to jihadists in Libya. It gives Hamas $100m. in annual aid. And in the past two years Doha has provided Hamas with an additional $620m. dollars, including $250m. it transferred to Hamas leader...

“We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.”

A man set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Berlin on Monday night. Police said it was too soon to say whether it was part of a political protest. Amid tensions in Berlin over pro-Gaza protests and a rise in anti-Semitism, the 46-year-old doused himself in a flammable liquid and then set himself alight with a cigarette lighter at 11.45pm on Monday. Police said the man, who is of Arab descent, only suffered minor injuries outside the Israeli embassy in south-west Berlin. A police spokesman told The Local his feet and legs were burnt and he was now...

Air France and Germany's two largest airlines on Wednesday canceled more flights to Tel Aviv because of ongoing safety concerns amid the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Germany's Lufthansa and Air Berlin extended their cancelations through Thursday and Air France said it was suspending its flights "until further notice." Polish state airline LOT also said Wednesday that it has suspended its flights to Israel from Warsaw until Monday because of concern for passengers' safety. "This is caused by the tense situation in the region," LOT added in a statement. "The connection will be re-established as soon as possible and when...

Navi Pillay said Tel Aviv's two-week onslaught on Gaza - which has cost more than 650 Palestinians lives - would be thoroughly investigated. Ms Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the attacks have destroyed houses and hospitals and killed civilians. "These are just a few examples where there seems to be a strong possibility that international humanitarian law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes. "Every one of these incidents must be properly and independently investigated." According to Gaza officials, 475 houses have been destroyed and 2,644 damaged, while 46 schools, 56 mosques...

Ovda, a military airfield, has opened after the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency temporarily canceled all flights to Israel due to a Hamas rocket attack on Tuesday. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz announced on Wednesday that Israel would be opening the Ovda Airport as an alternative to Ben-Gurion Airport. In practical terms, this means that foreign airlines that wish to land there instead of at Ben-Gurion Airport will be able to do so. No airline that operates at Ben-Gurion Airport has given its approval or agreement to move its flights to Ovda Airport as yet. The idea of opening...

Israel has accused airlines and aviation regulators of damaging its economy after carriers stopped flying to Tel Aviv because of the conflict between government forces and militants in Gaza. Mr Romm said about 25 airlines had stopped flying to Ben Gurion, adding this would have a “very bad” impact on the Israeli economy. Lufthansa on Wednesday extended its flight suspension to include Thursday, and Air France is not expected to review the case for resuming services until Friday.

Friends of Hamas continue to spout Hamas talking points. A spokesman for PM Netanyahu responds to one of them.This new video from Truth Revolt pits a pro-Hamas MSNBC interviewer against a spokesman for PM Netanyahu. She tries to blame Israel for Gaza's "civilian" casualties and he responds to her claims. He's good. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVZX2l6OhIE] Video link

 – The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Wednesday to consider a draft resolution that condemns Israel repeatedly for its military offensive against Hamas, but does not mention the terrorist group once.The resolution calls for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to probe allegations that Israel has committed war crimes and violated international law. Alongside multiple criticisms of Israel – whose conduct the council “condemns,” “strongly condemns” and “condemns in the strongest terms” – there is a single reference in the three-page type written draft to rocket attacks on Israeli civilians

Air Canada has cancelled its scheduled flight to Tel Aviv from Toronto Tuesday night, following the lead of other airlines concerned about rocket fire near Ben Gurion Airport. Air Canada had a flight scheduled to leave for Tel Aviv from Toronto at 6:10 p.m. ET. The airline will continue to evaluate the situation and provide updates as needed, a spokeswoman said. The return flight to Toronto from Tel Aviv for Wednesday, July 23, has also been cancelled, the carrier confirmed. In response to a CBC News query, Transport Canada said the suspensions of flights to Israel are decisions taken by...

Israel's ambassador to the United States says the Israeli Defense Forces deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for showing so much restraint in the nation's ongoing conflict in Gaza. Speaking at a Christians United for Israel Summit in Washington on Tuesday, the ambassador, Ron Dermer, said that, "No military in history has taken greater care than the IDF to protect innocents of the other side." While admitting there had been heavy civilian casualties on the Palestinian side, he said the threat Hamas posed to Israel in some cases justified attacks even when those attacks jeopardized non-combatants. "Some are shamelessly accusing Israel...

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Israeli Ministry of Transportation on Wednesday offered to open an airport in the southern Israeli city of Eilat to international flights after a slew of international carriers pulled flights to Tel Aviv out of safety concerns, Israeli media said. A report on Israel's Channel 10 highlighted that Israel had exerted major efforts in the last 24 hours to convince international companies to resume flights to Ben Gurion airport, which many European and US carriers halted after a Gaza rocket landed in the nearby town of Yehud. The cancellation of dozens of flights in and out of...

Aeroflot A330, landed and took off from Ben Gurion, destination unknown.

Lufthansa, Delta, US Airways extend flight bans to Israel along with US Federal Aviation Administration along with most European airlines. The FAA on Tuesday said it told US carriers they were prohibited from flying to or from Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for up to 24 hours, citing "the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza." The FAA later extended the ban by another 24 hours on Wednesday evening. The decision to halt flights to Israel follows the downing last week of a Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine with nearly 300 aboard. Germany's Lufthansa on...

“From-the-River-to-the-Sea, Palestine-will-be-Free.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, addressing the annual Washington conference of Christians United for Israel, July 21, 2014.With sharp jabs at the Obama administration, Christians United for Israel launched its annual Washington rally with appeals to Congress to impose new sanctions on Iran and cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority. David Brog, the group’s executive director, said CUFI regarded the Iran nuclear talks as a failure and would back legislation proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would impose new sanctions immediately. The Cruz measure is tougher than legislation already under consideration that would trigger sanctions...

The FAA announced today that they have not lifted their ban against travel to or from Tel Aviv's airport and will prohibit travel to the country for an additional 24 hours. "The agency is working closely with the Government of Israel to review the significant new information they have provided and determine whether potential risks to U.S. civil aviation are mitigated so the agency can resolve concerns as quickly as possible," the FAA said in a statement.

<p>TEL AVIV, Israel (CBS News/CBSDC/AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry defied a Federal Aviation Administration ban and flew into Israel’s main airport Wednesday in a sign of sheer will to achieve a cease-fire agreement in the warring Gaza Strip despite little evidence of progress in ongoing negotiations aimed at halting fighting that’s left at least 31 Israelis and 650 Palestinians dead.</p>

Israel has requested an additional $225 million in United States funding for the production of Iron Dome components, in light of the wide-scale use of the system during Operation Protective Edge. In a letter to the leaders of both houses of Congress on Wednesday, U. S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hegel wrote that the Department of Defense "has reviewed and supports this urgent request." The additional funding, if granted, will increase Iron Dome funding from the U.S. to more than half-a-billion dollars in the current financial year. Both houses, which previously doubled the Iron Dome allocation requested by the administration, are...

They arrived by the thousands for Max Steinberg’s funeral. In flip-flops and tank tops, dressed in youth movement uniforms and army unit T-shirts, with yarmulkes and hats, bareheaded and with sunglasses, they filed in to the cemetery at Mount Herzl, standing in uncharacteristic silence under the hot sun to pay their respects. “We’re here to give the family the feeling that we’re with them,” said Nirit Friedlander, a Jerusalemite who came with two friends. “They should feel that we’re holding them.” “He’s a lone soldier,” said Yisrael Schwartz, another local. “He’s part of us.”

BETHLEHEM, Israel -- As the war in the Gaza Strip continues, some fear a third intifada (armed Palestinian uprising) may be brewing. Forty-six miles away from the fighting against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, there's another battle some say is being dangerously ignored by the world. "My big concern right now is this -- is that the West Bank is being neglected with the riots that are being done every single night, almost now 13, 14 nights in a row," Pastor Steven Khoury, with Holy Land Missions, told CBN News. Khoury, a prominent Christian Arab who lives in Bethlehem, worries the...

Some 60,000 IDF reservists have been called up to serve in Operation Protective Edge so far. Many are parents leaving families behind at home – but not all are fathers. According to the IDF Spokesman who would not release exact figures, the thousands of women currently serving in reserves are a higher percentage than in any previous IDF operation. They serve in a variety of capacities, but especially in combat support in the Home Front Command, Intelligence, the Air Force and field operations. While it is never easy for anyone to drop everything and leave home, receiving a “tzav 8,”...

“Why in God’s name does anyone show sympathy, and support for a terrorist organization?” - Former Congressman Allen West

As Canada Free Press reported, Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place in many cities and countries throughout the West. These protests occasionally turned violent as did the one held last Friday in Calgary, Alberta. But what happened in Calgary was different.

Israel’s mood at the start of this war with Hamas was one of confident assurance. We wouldn’t be deterred by the rocket threat, and Hamas would be contained. That’s utterly changed. The rockets turned out to be the least of our concerns. And the national mood now is a mixture of anguish at the growing toll of IDF dead, anger at the feckless response of parts of the international community — notably the US — and confidence in the troops and (atypically) the political leadership. To lose the lives of 30 Israelis to terrorism is, appallingly, nothing new in a...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Animals In The Bible Job40:15 Behemoth New International Version (NIV)  15 “Look at Behemoth,     which I made along with you     and which feeds on grass like an ox. 16 What strength it has in its loins,     what power in the muscles of its belly! 17 Its tail sways like a cedar;     the sinews of its thighs are close-knit. 18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,     its limbs like rods of iron. 19 It ranks first among the works of God,     yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.

If you're looking to confirm the oft-repeated Israeli narrative that Hamas and terrorist groups in Gaza endanger Gazans by hiding weapons among the civilian population, then this episode is your smoking missile