Free Republic

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Israel risks a “strategic defeat” if it does not work to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza amid its war on militant group Hamas in the region. “The center of gravity is the civilian population and if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat,” Austin said in a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, Calif., on Saturday.

Joe Biden is facing a significant internal revolt against his administration's stance on the Israel-Hamas war, insiders have said - reflected in nationwide unease at the conflict, and his dismal polls. The president has been determined to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel following the Hamas terror attack of October 7, which killed 1,200 people. But he warned Israel's leaders in private and in public not to repeat America's mistakes post 9/11, and be blinded by rage and a desire for revenge. With 15,000 Gazans killed in seven weeks of bombardment, many inside the Biden administration feel that the White House should...

Anti-Israel protests at American universities have made headlines in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. And almost simultaneously, many conservative critics — including GOP presidential candidates — have used those protests as an opportunity to ramp up their assault on higher education, eagerly yoking them to their long-standing accusations of “liberal indoctrination.” Eliminationist chants, partisan DEI officers, angry mobs hey-hey, ho-ho-ing their support for terrorists — in terms of Republican's favorite straw men, the “woke,” liberal campus of 2023 has them all! Institutions of higher education, conservatives charge, are complicit in fostering an atmosphere of intimidation and even violence...

The bottom line is this: the modern home of antisemitism is the Democrat Party.That’s not to say that being a Democrat makes you an antisemite. Hardly. 7 in 10 Jews are Democrats, and many non-Jewish Democrats are anything but antisemites.But let’s face facts: the home of antisemites in America is the Democrat Party. While 80% of Republicans and nearly 70% of Independents support Israel, only 45% of Democrats do.Americans' sympathies overall lie with Israel in this conflict, but Democrats are splitBy a 61%-30% margin, respondents said their sympathies lie more with Israelis than Palestinians, but that's driven by Republicans (79%)...