Free Republic

The United States now believes Ukraine likely was behind the failed drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month. Russia said the attack was a terrorist attack and an assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin... The drama surrounding the United States debt ceiling continuing to warm up. The Fitch ratings service creating a "Negative Watch"... Tonight Microsoft presenting a fearful message about China... The protests against pension reform imposed by President Macron in France continue... The 95-year-old tasered by a policer officer at an aged care home in Australia last week is dead... The markets today sharp drops.... The US...

Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, says that if President Joe Biden would not invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, he would invite him to Congress. Speaker McCarthy made his remarks in an extensive interview which will be published in Monday's Israel Hayom newspaper. McCarthy says he does not know the timing, but if it happens, he will invite Netanyahu to meet at the House. He adds that the Prime Minister is a dear friend, and as the leader of a nation with very good ties with the US, he believes the...

"He (Lindsey Graham) said that the Biden Administration had dispatched him to the region in order to test Saudi Arabia's seriousness about a normalization deal and gauge how much the country has been able to implement reforms promised by the crown prince, known as MBS." Times Of Israel Story 4/18/2023 Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham visiting Saudi Arabia in recent days meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Then he stopped in Israel to meet top Israeli leaders like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz (touted as the next "Centrist" Prime Minister to replace Netanyahu) and Opposition Leader...

cautions premier may no longer be thinking rationally. Former military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman says he no longer trusts Benjamin Netanyahu's judgement on matters of security after the prime minister's attempt to fire Yoav Gallant as defense minister, and that some of the damage to Israel's economy and social cohesion, and its ties with the US, inflicted by the government's currently suspended push to overhaul the judiciary may be irreversible. In an interview (Hebrew link) with the Times of Israel's sister site Zman Israel, Hayman said he didn't have a rational explanation for Netanyahu's recent behavior...

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) pushed back Wednesday morning, following criticism by President Joe Biden of the Israeli government's handling of the judicial crisis. On Tuesday Biden said he is "very concerned" about the judicial overhaul, adding Israel "cannot continue down this road." Biden also added he will not be inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in the near term. Speaking with Galei Tzahal Wednesday morning, Ben-Gvir fired back that Israel is independent of the United States, and Biden's criticism was inappropriate. "We respect the democratic system there (in the US), but...they need to...

Israel is a sovereign country that does not make decisions based on pressures from abroad, says PM Netanyahu after US President Biden warned Tel Aviv "cannot continue" pressing for deeply controversial reforms. Israel is a sovereign nation that does not make decisions based on pressures from abroad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in response to comments by US President Joe Biden. Biden said on Tuesday he hoped Netanyahu would abandon judicial changes that had sparked protests in Israel and a political crisis for its government. "Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its...

MK Avi Maoz, head of the Noam party, has expressed his staunch opposition to any plan to halt the judicial reform program. In a Knesset speech on Monday morning, he described how backing down would hand victory to the elites and turn voting into an utterly futile exercise. "What we are about to see here is the completion of the coup d'etat whose aim is to turn democratic rule in the State Of Israel, based on government by elected officials into a dictatorship of the elites, which in a cynical use of words designed to mislead and conceal calls what...

As PM announces delay, protesters demand judicial reform move forward, rail against "elites", claim election was "stolen" from them Tens of thousands of government supporters demonstrated in Jerusalem on Monday in favor of its judicial overhaul and against its planned halt, shortly before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced it was being put on hold. The rally was the largest event of its kind since the government launched its far-reaching legislative plan in January. The past months have seen massive anti-overhaul protests, but supporters rallies were few and far between until it became clear Monday that the plan was being delayed....

After the mass demonstrations throughout the country during the night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a speech to the nation this morning...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, exactly a day after Gallant called for a stop to radical [sic] reforms to the judiciary that have divided the country and that the defense minister said posed security risks to Israel.The dramatic move could accelerate a crisis that Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, who has also called for a stop to the legislation, has said could culminate in a bloody civil war. It could also further fray ties with the United States, where Gallant has been steering coordination on defense cooperation with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin...In a surprise...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address to the nation this evening (Thursday) on the government's planned judicial reforms. The address follows Netanyahu's meeting with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who called for the judicial reform bills to be frozen until the next Knesset session. "Citizens of Israel, a few months ago, as soon as the election results were announced, I said, 'I intend to be prime minister of all citizens of Israel," I meant it then and I mean it today." Netanyahu said at the beginning of his speech. "We have one country and we must do everything to protect...

Multiple new letters Wednesday by soldiers from air force, armored corps, infantry and more warn government of consequences of judicial overhaul Reports proliferated Wednesday of reservist soldiers from multiple units throughout the military declaring they would not show up for duty, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government pushes forward with its plan to overhaul the judiciary. Meanwhile, a report in Haaretz said that the IDF has identified a significant drop in the number of ground troops reporting for reserve duty. In the elite 551st Paratroopers Brigade, only 57 percent of reservists reported for duty this week--down significantly from the usual...

President reiterates call for coalition to secure 'broadest possible' support for foundational changes to High Court avoids extending White House invitation long sought by PM US President Joe Biden raised his concerns with the judicial overhaul being advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government during a "candid and constructive" phone call with the premier on Sunday, according to a senior administration official. Biden reiterated previously voiced US calls for the Netanyahu government to secure "as broad a consensus as possible" for the fundamental changes aimed at curbing the High Court of Justice's powers, the administration official said, and also expressed...

Dozens of demonstrators protested in Kfar Uria, west of Jersualem, Saturday morning against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who spent the weekend in the village. The protesters made noise using megaphones and airhorns near the synagogue where the minister was praying. Residents were angered by the noise during the services and requested that the protesters leave the premises. A confrontation developed at the scene, including throwing firecrackers, stones, and smoke grenades at the protesters. Two protesters were arrested, and a counter-protester was arrested on suspicion he threw stones. In video footage, one of the protesters, Yishai Hadas from the "Crime...

In a brief statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party denies reports that have apparently said the government plans to freeze the judicial overhaul legislation... Police say officers have detained a 24-year old man for driving a motorcycle into a group of protesters in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim... Supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party hurl eggs at demonstrators... The Israel Defense Forces says a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip landed in an open field near the southern town of Nahal Oz... Police are using water cannons against demonstrators blocking the Route 65 highway at Karkur...

Police twice clear demonstrators from Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv; after coalition rejects Herzog proposal, Lapid blames government for violence after protesters pepper-sprayed. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Israel as part of a day of "escalating resistance to dictatorship" blocking roads and protesting the government's continued advance of controversial legislation to radically overhaul the judiciary and restrict the powers of the High Court of Justice. Many of the protesters said they were inspired to come out and demonstrate after the government showed no signs of slowing down its legislative efforts and rejected an alternate proposal...

MK Avigdor Liberman, head of the right-wing secularist Yisrael Beytenu party, expresses concern that religion is gaining too much sway in Israel during the joint press conference with other opposition chiefs. "If we do not separate religion and state, we will not have a state", says the longtime critic of the ultra-Orthodox's influence on the state. "Today it is clear that the main engine for all this crazy legislation, the most rigid, the most extreme element that is not ready for any compromise are the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties," Liberman adds, singling out the Knesset's two ultra-Orthodox factions....

PM says judicial reforms proposed under Herzog's compromise plan merely 'perpetuate' the situation which necessitated reforms to begin with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday night rejected President Issac Herzog's proposed judicial reform compromise plan, claiming that the proposal does not solve the issues that necessitated a reform of the judicial system in the first place. "I think that any attempt to reach an agreement and to negotiate is certainly appropriate, and therefore the representatives of the coalition went and talked with the president time and time again, while the representatives of the opposition are still not ready for negotiation,"...

A protest and counter-protest held in Bnai Brak on Tuesday evening turned ugly after one person allegedly pepper spray at a police officer, and police used force in an attempt to disperse haredi protesters from the scene. On Monday, organizers of the anti-government protests against judicial reform announced that they would be demonstration outside the home of MK Moshe Gafni, a member of the United Torah Judaism party (UTJ). "The demonstration will be the opening salvo in a broad process against the involvement of haredi Knesset members in advancing laws to create a coup d'état, and we will first be...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened his party's faction meeting with an attack on the media. "Media channels are mobilized against the government. Fake news is being spread 24/7." he said. "In the leftist media, soldiers refusing to serve become heroes, protesters blocking ambulances become freedom fighters, and a reform to strengthen democracy is dubbed as 'the end of democracy." According to the media, we're not trying to pass a reform but carry out a coup d'état." "In any reformed democracy, elected officials are responsible for the army, police and law and order. This is enshrined in law in every democracy....