Free Republic

The anti-Semitic "tradition" of blaming Jews for the world's problems mostly took a temporary back seat in light of the indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. Major newspaper editorials condemned Hamas, but their condemnation was hedged by calls for "restraint" on "both sides" and "proportionality" in Israel's response to the attacks. There is little or no mention of Hamas' directive to ignore Israel's warning to leave homes in areas where the rockets have been placed among civilians. The Hamas strategy is to parade the bodies of the dead before TV cameras to demonstrate Israel's "cruelty"...

On Sunday John Kerry forgot the number one rule of being miked for an interview; the microphone is always on. The Secretary of State was miked and on camera waiting for an interview with Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace when he spoke to an aide about an Israeli operation resulting in the deaths of 14 IDF solders. Kerry’s reaction was a mocking: "It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation. “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation.We’ve got to get over there. Thank you, John. I think, John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.”...

Palestinian soldier stands guard during Pope Francis' May 25, 2014 Mass in Bethlehem's Manger Square. Credit: Lauren Cater/CNA. Vatican City, Jul 18, 2014 / 08:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In wake of the rising death toll in Gaza due to increased tensions between Israel and Palestine, Pope Francis made a personal call to both presidents in order to ask for peace. “Following last Sunday’s heartfelt appeal for continued prayer for peace in the Holy Land, this morning the Holy Father Francis personally telephoned President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas,” a July 18 statement from the Vatican read. During the calls,...

Netanyahu's office says purpose of mission is to destroy terror tunnels and seriously harm the infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza. "In light of Hamas' continuous criminal aggression, and the dangerous infiltration into Israeli territory, Israel is obligated to act in defense of its citizens,” a statement from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office said.

One of the most common and misleading tactics deployed against Israel by its critics is to compare the number of dead Israelis and dead Palestinians, and use the figures to portray Palestinians as victims of Israeli aggression. Vox's Max Fisher, who is on a campaign to convince people that Israel bears primary responsibility for the absence of peace in the region, pushed the argument this week to show that the conflict was “lopsided.” The Legal Insurrection blog has rounded up other examples of liberals and critics of Israel making similar arguments emphasizing comparative death totals. In a sense, it's understandable...

This reminds me of the song from A Chorus Line forty years ago. The musical had a song - which I will not post now because it's the three weeks of mourning for the Holy Temples - that described what a woman needs to make it in show business. The lyrics are here. Here's another story that proves you don't need a brain to be a popular entertainer. Just the things described in the song. Pop superstar Rihanna caused a social media firestorm this week when she tweeted "#FreePalestine" from her official account before deleting it eight minutes later. In...

"Here's the difference between us," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained on "Fox News Sunday." "We're using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they're using their civilians to protect their missiles." It's a classic talking point. It's also objectively true, and that truth is very frustrating for Israel's critics. All one needs to do is delve into the muck of Twitter and read the timelines for such hashtags as #GazaUnderAttack and #GenocideInGaza: "They're killing the women and children to ensure there won't be a new generation of Palestine." "One Holocaust can NEVER justify another." And let's not even...

It's become another military euphemism, along with "collateral damage" and "friendly fire." The "knock on the roof" is the Israeli military's warning for civilians before it fires on a building and is being used extensively as Israeli airstrikes target Hamas sites in Operation Protective Edge. The Israeli Air Force developed the technique in 2009 as a way to warn civilians in Gaza to leave buildings it has identified as locations where Hamas keeps ammunition, a rocket stash or command post. But it is a controversial policy that has been criticized by human rights groups. The procedure generally begins with a...

At last, an Obama administration official has come out in favor of a fence. He promises it will bring security to people on both sides of the border. Unfortunately, Philip Gordon, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, was not speaking of a border fence between the United States and Mexico, but a fence between the West Bank and the 1967 Israeli border. That fence, he said, would be built after Israel relinquishes the territory in exchange for an empty promise of "peace" with the Palestinians. Apparently Gordon hasn't noticed that missiles fly...

Israel’s attempts to minimize collateral damage while seeking to respond to Hamas’ repeated missile launches against Israeli civilians were sternly countered by Hamas this week. While Israel has been warning Palestinian civilians of impending air strikes in order to prompt them to move out of targeted areas, Hamas has forbidden civilians from taking Israeli advice. Hamas’ Khaled Meshaal explained that “it is every Palestinian’s duty to sacrifice himself if required to do so in our never ending battle against the Jewish occupiers. The Jews would like nothing better than to separate our fighters from the women and children who we...

Five days after the launch of Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s effort to put a halt to Hamas rocket fire, some 600 rockets had been fired from Gaza at Israel. Rockets fired throughout Saturday targeted communities near the Gaza Strip as well as Beersheba, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Rehovot and Rishon Lezion. Hamas launched a major assault on central Israel in late evening. An American tourist died of a heart attack after sirens wailed in Jerusalem. Palestinian reports say at least 150 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes, including more than 15 in a strike late Saturday aimed at Hamas’s Gaza...

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators turned out on the streets of London, Paris, and Oslo on Friday to call for an end to Israeli military strikes on Gaza. Several thousand people crowded the streets outside the Israeli Embassy in west London, waving placards that read "Gaza: End the Siege" and "Freedom for Palestine." The crowds blocked an entire road, and several protesters managed to climb on top of a double-decker bus stuck in traffic, but police said the protest was largely peaceful. Norwegian news website The Local reported that some 3,000 protestors gathered in front of the Norwegian parliament in Oslo...

On June 2, the Palestinians announced a new unity government, which included Hamas, an organization designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist group. American aid to the Palestinians since the mid-1990s, according to a Congressional Research Service report, has exceeded $5 billion. In recent years it has averaged $500 million per year. The report notes three major U.S. objectives of these funds: preventing terrorism against Israel from Hamas; fostering “stability, prosperity, and self-governance on the West Bank”; humanitarian aid. When Hamas joined the Palestinian government on June 2, the United States recognized the new government and there...

This week's discovery of the decomposing bodies of the three Israeli teenagers kidnapped and murdered by members of the Hamas terror organization last week sparked diverse reactions from key leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retribution. Hamas's Khalad Mashaal blessed the hands of the murderers. President Obama urged Israeli leaders to "exercise restraint and not take action that would destabilize the situation." While admitting that "from a Western perspective the murder of innocent civilians appears an inexcusable atrocity," President Obama cautioned that "this is not the only perspective worthy of consideration. As the Palestinians see it, all Jews living...

The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted four rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel on Saturday night. Three rockets were shot down over Asheklon after the rocket defense system intercepted a projectile fired at Beersheba. Another rocket fell in an open area near Ashkelon, and a second one exploded in Sha'ar Hanegev. Earlier in the evening, the Israel Air Force struck three terror sites in southern Gaza Strip in response to a continuous barrage of rockets fired at southern Israel throughout the day. "The IDF is prepared to defend Israeli citizens from any threat and will continue...

Islamist militants, who have declared an Islamic “caliphate” in an area straddling Iraq and Syria, trumpeted the declaration in several videos. One slick video, mostly in English, features a bearded fighter with an AK-47 on his back, explaining the new caliphate. “This is not the first border we will break, we will break other borders,” a jihadist from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, warned in the video called End of Sykes-Picot, a reference to the agreement between France and Britain that divided up the Ottoman empire...

An extremist Salafi organization known as Dawlat al-Islam has distributed pamphlets in Hebron claiming responsibility for the feared kidnapping of the three Israeli teens. Israel security services are investigating the validity of the claim. A self-described Al-Qaida offshoot, Dawlat al-Islam is linked to ISIS, the Sunni militant organization behind this week's Iraq insurgency.

The bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped in the West Bank earlier this month have been found north-west of the city of Hebron, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed today. "Following extensive searches in order to retrieve the three abducted teens ... three bodies were discovered in the area north-west to Hebron, north of the community of Telem," the IDF said in a statement. "The bodies are currently going through forensic identification. The families of the abducted teens have been notified." An emergency cabinet meeting has been called for 2:30 p.m. ET, and an announcement could come during or...

Almost two weeks since the abduction of American citizen Naftali Frenkel, President Barack Obama has yet to publicly say a word. Utter silence. Palestinian terrorists abducted Frenkel, and two Israeli teenagers, on the evening of June 12th. While no person or organization has stepped forward to take credit, Israel claims that that they have indisputable evidence to link the hostage situation to Hamas and that they have provided this information to the State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry has gone as far as to publicly state, “Many indications point to Hamas’ involvement.” One would think that the president of...

The controversial panel included two of America’s leading Islamophobes. Could you imagine a panel on Jewish issues featuring Mel Gibson?Why has hate become a part of mainstream conservatism? We saw an example of this Monday at The Heritage Foundation, a one-time quasi-respected conservative think tank. It appears that those days are gone, as Heritage has now become a platform for people denounced by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center for their hate-filled rhetoric. So what happened Monday? You may have read Dana Milbank’s column in The Washington Post about the panel—on the “unanswered questions” around Benghazi—that turned...