Free Republic

Late Tuesday night, the student government at UCLA voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution calling on the university to divest from the State of Israel. The move, sponsored by the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine, passed on the same day that two Palestinian terrorists murdered five Jews, including three Americans, as they prayed in a synagogue in Jerusalem. This is the second time that students at UCLA have voted on the topic of divestment from Israel in the last year. A similar resolution failed to pass in February on a 7-5 vote after TruthRevolt's Ben Shapiro made...

Another Gaza Live Cam is up on UStream Something big is going on.

The Cupcake Crew food truck in New York City proved it’s not so sweet after all. The company inexplicably took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to spew some hate for Israel.

John Kerry invoked his Vietnam War service to push back against an Israeli cabinet member who criticized his recent comments on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. During a security conference in Munich last weekend, Kerry suggested that if his Israeli-Palestinian peace effort fails, there could be serious consequences for Israel.

TEL AVIV, January 16, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Israeli pro-life group Be’ad Chaim slammed the government's recent decision to extend abortion funding to virtually all women, saying the move was a reflection of the country's moral and spiritual degeneration. "The moral fibers of our nation are in shreds," said Sandy Shoshani, national director of Be’ad Chaim (which means "Pro Life" in Hebrew). "You can't bring a curse on your nation and not expect repercussions. We just opened the door wide and made ourselves vulnerable." LifeSiteNews.com reported that the nation's Health Basket Committee, which determines what medical procedures are paid for...

On Thursday a United Nations interpreter, unaware that her microphone was on, uttered words of truth in reaction to the General Assembly’s adoption of nine politically-motivated resolutions condemning Israel, and zero resolutions on the rest of the world. Under the mistaken impression that she was speaking only to colleagues, the interpreter uttered the following words into the headphones of every UN delegate, and before a live webcast audience worldwide: “I think when you have… like a total of ten resolutions on Israel and Palestine, there’s gotta be something, c’est un peu trop, non? [It’s a bit much, no?] I mean...

The U.S. ambassador to Israel on Monday sought to reassure Jewish leaders unnerved by the Obama administration's negotiations with Iran on that country's nuclear program. Ambassador Dan Shapiro insisted the U.S. would not let Iran develop a nuclear weapon even as it sought to reach a deal that could remove some sanctions on Iran. "Obama has made it crystal clear that he will not permit Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon period, and is prepared to use all elements of our national power to ensure that we are successful," Shapiro told the Jewish Federation of North America’s General Assembly in...

Egyptians protest after homes demolished to create buffer zone; Hamas official says Egyptian move could "solidify the blockade." Egyptian soldiers keep guard in Sinai Photo: REUTERSThe Hamas government said Sunday it was "surprised" to hear that Egypt is planning to create a buffer zone along the border with the Gaza Strip. Ehab Ghissin, spokesman for the Hamas government, said that there should be no buffer zones "between brothers and friendly countries." Ghissin expressed hope that the Egyptian move would not "solidify the blockade" and increase the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip. He called for establishing a free...

Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday said he “can’t contemplate” that Congress would not authorize military action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and therefore “turn its back on” the United States’ allies in the region and “on innocent Syrian people who have been slaughtered by this gas.”Host Chris Wallace asked Kerry on "Fox News Sunday" what would happen if Congress refused to give its authorization for military action in Syria, and Kerry replied that he does not believe that will happen.(Also on POLITICO: Kerry: 'Case is building' in Syria)

“Kerry would have an easier time convincing Greenpeace to dine on whale steak and spotted owl than in brokering peace between Israel and Palestinians,” Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told TheDC. What’s more, Rubin said, with all the fires flaring around the world, it makes little sense that Kerry would devote so much time to a problem that isn’t currently in a position to be resolved. “Egypt is imploding, and Turkey is going south fast. Antagonism between Europe and America is at an all-time high. China is bullying U.S. allies in southeast Asia. And what is...

A group of ultra-Orthodox men attacked a police car in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Yisrael on Thursday, shattering its front and back windshields. Police were called to the scene after the neighborhood’s so-called “modesty patrol” beset a car in which a group of ultra-Orthodox women were traveling, claiming that they were dressed immodestly. Several ultra-Orthodox men broke the car’s windows, punctured its tires and poured fish oil on it.

Escalations continued on all sides in Syria’s civil war except, curiously, among the Syrians.  The EU decided not to renew the embargo on arms sales to Syrian rebels, which prompted the Russians to pledge delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, which prompted Israel to implicitly warn that they would make great targets for their air force.  In the middle of all this, John McCain got a photo op with a Syrian opposition that’s being dominated by radical Islamist militias, including an al-Qaeda affiliate that forms the core of their military operations.In other words, it’s a mess, but let’s start with the embargo’s...

Explosions shook Damascus just before 2 a.m. Sunday, and rebels in Syria said jets struck at least nine locations in close proximity, including a research center. Israel is now bracing for retaliation from the blasts. NBC's Richard Engel reports. NEWS ANALYSIS By Richard Engel, Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC News ANTAKYA, Turkey -- War makes strange bedfellows. President Bashar Assad’s regime is in the unique position of being targeted both by Israel and supporters of al Qaeda. It is hard to imagine more a diverse couple: Sworn enemies fighting against the same government. Israel carried out a series of attacks on...

Official says purported attack 'proof' of links between Israel, Syrian insurgency; UK foreign secretary pledges 'respect' to Israel's commitment to own security P{margin:0;} UL{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-right: 16; padding-right:0;} OL{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-right: 32; padding-right:0;} H3.pHeader {margin-bottom:3px;COLOR: #192862;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;margin-top:0px;} P.pHeader {margin-bottom:3px;COLOR: #192862;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;}Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said the strike at Syria overnight represented a "declaration of war" by Israel.  Speaking to CNN the official claimed the alleged attack proved there was a link between Israel and the Syrian rebels engaged in violent combat with the forces supporting President Bashar Assad. He added Syria would respond in the manner and timing of its...

Syria state media reports of Israeli airstrikes targeting several military positions. Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon's Hezbollah group, officials and activists said.Syria's state media on Sunday reported that Israeli missiles struck a military and scientific research centre near the Syrian capital and caused casualties.The attack, the second in three days, signaled a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's civil war."The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups which have...

Israeli officials on Saturday reportedly confirmed the Israeli Air Force carried out a strike against Syria and say it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles. The officials said the shipment was not of chemical arms, but of “game changing” weapons bound for the terror group Hezbollah. One official said the target was a shipment of advanced, long-range ground-to-ground missiles.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Isaiah 62 1. For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2.The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. 3.You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4.No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But...

Joe Biden also said the US remained committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Barack Obama's threats to use military force to prevent Iran securing a nuclear weapon are more than idle bluffs, vice-president Joe Biden told the biggest pro-Israeli lobbying group Aipac on Monday.Biden said that while the US preferred a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Iran, a military option remained on the table."The president of the United States cannot, and does not, bluff. President Barack Obama is not bluffing," Biden told the audience in Washington.Israel is seeking assurances of support...

BEIRUT (AP) -- An Israeli air attack staged in Syria this week may be a sign of things to come.Israeli military officials appear to have concluded that the risks of attacking Syria are worth taking when compared to the dangers of allowing sophisticated weapons to reach Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon.With Syrian President Bashar Assad's grip on power weakening, Israeli officials fear he could soon lose control over his substantial arsenal of chemical and advanced weapons, which could slip into the hands of Hezbollah or other hostile groups. These concerns, combined with Hezbollah's own domestic problems, mean further military...

Latest News Syria, Allies Condem Israel Strike Israel bombed a suspected shipment of antiaircraft missiles in Syria on Wednesday, according to regional and U.S. officials, in its most ambitious strike inside its neighbor's territory in nearly two chaotic years of civil war there.The early-morning strike in a border area west of Damascus targeted a convoy of trucks carrying Russian-made SA-17 missiles to Hezbollah, the anti-Israel Shiite militant and political group in Lebanon, according to a Western official briefed on the raid. Israel launched an airstrike against a convoy of trucks moving near the Lebanon-Syria border Tuesday, a senior U.S. official...