Free Republic

Meanwhile, Earth to Pope Francis: It’s not declarations of angel hood or your sanction that the leaders of radical Islam want--it’s your own and all other Christian heads Having convinced themselves that they will be able to convert the centuries old Catholic Church now that Pope Francis has thrown in with Obama and Palestine, the chickens of the lib-left are heading home to roost. The pious music you can hear in the background, emanating as steadily as greenhouse gas emissions, is coming from three of the far left’s top dogs belting out “I love Pope Francis” hymns on their way...

BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (CNN) - Pope Francis will canonize two 19th century Palestinian women as Roman Catholic saints. The historic event is especially meaningful to one of the world's oldest Christian communities. It is the perfect celebration of sainthood for two Palestinian nuns, a humble and devout offering of prayer to mark a historic moment for Christians and Palestinians. In the land of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, the land of the beginnings of Christianity, Mariam Baouardy and Marie-Alphonsine Ghattas are the first two Palestinian saints in modern times. “As Christians, this is a sign of hope, this is...

[1]Also Hitler’s corpse would like reparations for not being allowed to conquer London.Considering that British rule helped bring in Muslim illegal aliens into the historical Jewish homeland, who then refused to leave and began killing people, Israel can then demand reparations from the UK for Hamas.Or maybe the UK can just resettle Hamas in Tower Hamlets. No one would notice the difference [2]. Hamas official Essam Adwan stated Friday that Britain “paved the way” for a “Zionist takeover” by preventing Palestinians from establishing an armed resistance against Jews in 1947 and by weakening the local economy and education system.The...

President Reuven Rivlin was born on September 9, 1939, in Jerusalem. However, according to the Google search engine, the tenth president of the State of Israel was born in “Palestine.” The Mayor of Ra’anana, Ze’ev Bielski, made the shocking discovery. “While working on a speech for the arrival of President to Ra’anana, and I typed his name into Google in English, and then we were amazed to see that says he was born in Jerusalem—in the Palestinian state,” Bielski stated to Yediot Aharonot on Friday. […] This is not the first time that Google has leaned toward labeling parts of...

After Pope Francis moved to recognize a Palestinian state, some gung-ho defenders of Israel suggested the pontiff should stick to preaching and stay out of politics. “It’s interesting how the Vatican has gotten so political when ultimately the Vatican ought to be working to lead people to Jesus Christ and salvation, and that’s what the Church is supposed to do,” said Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), a hawkish defender of Israel. It wasn’t just Duncan. Several House conservatives seemed exasperated that Francis, who will address Congress this fall, approved the Vatican’s recognition of Palestine as a state. On Wednesday, critics said...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects. The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine. The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and...

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia will help Palestine in achieving its goal of becoming an independent state with the capital in East Jerusalem, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday in his address to the Arab League summit participants. “Russia will continue contributing to the attainment of this goal [Palestine’s independence], working through bilateral channels and through multilateral channels, including in the ‘Quartet’ of international mediators,” Putin said. The Quartet comprising Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union, was established in 2002, aiming to reach a long-term peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians. The Russian president stressed on...

<p>VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects.</p> <p>The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine.</p>

The Vatican has officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty. The treaty, which was finalized Wednesday but still has to be signed, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine. The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and constitutes an official recognition. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to see Pope Francis on Saturday before the...

The Vatican has officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty. The treaty, which was finalized Wednesday but still has to be signed, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine.

DEBKAfile reports exclusively from Washington: US President Barack Obama did not wait for Binyamin Netanyahu to finish building his new government coalition by its deadline at midnight Wednesday, May 6, before going into action to pay him back for forming a right-wing cabinet minus any moderate figure for resuming negotiations with the Palestinians. Banking on Netanyahu’s assertion while campaigning for re-election that there would be no Palestinian state during his term in office, Obama is reported exclusively by our sources to have given the hitherto withheld green light to European governments to file a UN Security Council motion proclaiming an...

Obama is going to find it impossible to impose his land swap proposals – if Oren has any say. Michael Oren – one of seven members of the recently formed Kulanu party elected to Israel’s new Parliament – seems destined to play a pivotal role in torpedoing President Obama’s proposals for a two-state solution aimed at resolving the 100 years old Arab-Jewish conflict. Agreement has reportedly been reached between Israel’s Prime Minister elect Benjamin Netanyahu and Kulanu chairman Moshe Kahlon for Kahlon to be appointed Finance Minister. Fellow Kulanu members - Yoav Galant and Eli Alalouf - will serve respectively...

Considering the Crusades in the Context of the Current Conflict with Radical Islamists By: Msgr. Charles PopeRecent and persistent attacks by radical Muslims, especially the most recent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians, have many asking what can or should be done to end such atrocities. Military actions by numerous countries, including our own, are already underway. Most feel quite justified in these actions and many are calling for more concerted efforts to eliminate ISIS and related zealots who seem to know no pity, no reason, and no limits. I do not write here to opine on the need for...

Jane’s Defence Weekly reports that Hezbollah has built a runway in the morthern Bekaa Valley to be used for drones, likely Iranian-made UAVs. New satellite images shows the runway in an area 10 kilometers south of the Lebanese village of Hermel.
Jane’s states: The short length of the runway suggests the facility is not intended to smuggle in weapons shipments from Syria or Iran as it is too short for nearly all the transport aircraft used by the air forces of those countries. An alternative explanation is that the runway was built for Iranian-made UAVs, including the Ababil-3, which has been...

To understand what feeds former president Jimmy Carter's anti-Israeli frenzy, look at his early links to Arab business. Between 1976-1977, the Carter family peanut business received a bailout in the form of a $4.6 million, "poorly managed" and highly irregular loan from the National Bank of Georgia (NBG). According to a July 29, 1980 Jack Anderson expose in The Washington Post, the bank's biggest borrower was Mr. Carter, and its chairman at that time was Mr. Carter's confidant, and later his director of the Office of Management and Budget, Bert Lance.

Editor's note: This column was co-authored by Bob Morrison. It’s a phrase endlessly repeated since 1989. It’s been on the lips of Western diplomats, especially our own State Department types, for a quarter century: “Two-State Solution.” We must have a Roadmap to Peace and that destination must embrace a state for the Israelis and a state for the Arabs of Palestine. Anyone who questions that formulation is in danger of being marginalized. How can you oppose what Secretaries of State of both great American political parties have embraced? How can you say there are any people on earth who are...

Dennis Ross and David Makovsky in Israel’s Drive Toward Self-Destruction, argue that Netanyahu must offer up hope to Palestinians or face a revived de-legitimization movement. They’re certainly right to point out that the delegitimation movement will grow, but they are wrong to suggest that the answer is for Israel to offer hope to the Palestinians. How facile is that? They argue that what Israel needs to do is begin capitulating even before the negotiations commence, let alone, conclude. They want Israel to give up its bargaining chips for nothing in return. The Palestinians don’t hope to be given a state,...

I grew up Jewish.  When I was growing up, being Jewish meant you supported Israel.  I lived through the 1967 war (I was a toddler), the 1973 war (I was in third grade), and the “troubles” since then.  Israel always seemed invincible. As I got older, things became more complicated.  Today I read about Jews of my generation who question their loyalty to Israel, who, in fact, disclaim Israel as their birthright, as if it were something that could be disclaimed. Certainly, the images of dead Palestinian children can make anyone with a shred of human decency’s heart break.  I...

The Obama Administration has declassified a top secret file disclosing the details of Israel's nuclear weapons program. Press Secretary Josh Earnest characterized the move as "payback for Netanyahu's deviation from the path laid out for Israel by President Obama. People have got to learn that their actions have consequences. When you defy the world's most powerful man you can't expect to get away unscathed." Earnest also argued that "it may help level the playing field in the Middle East. Even without nuclear weapons Israel has consistently defeated efforts to annihilate it. By publicly releasing this previously secret information the President...

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, one of three Cuban-Americans in the Senate, is throwing his hat into the ring for the 2016 presidential race today. Cruz has made a career out of slamming President Obama for being weak and presiding over the collapse of countries like Yemen (as though Cruz could have done anything about that if he had been president). I figure if you total them all up, Cruz has called for six or seven strong US interventions abroad, whether in the form of invasions, air strikes, or covert coups d’etat. It is hard to tell exactly, since he doesn’t...