Free Republic

School head bans Jewish symbol 'for fear of provoking Muslim students'; teacher hires lawyers, vows to fight back Norway – A teacher working at an adult education center who has been told to stop wearing a Star of David because it "provokes the many Muslim students at the school" in 2004 is now considering legal action against the ban, the Norwegian television network NRK has reported. School head Kjell Gislefoss, said he thought that the Star of David can be seen to represent the State of Israel and is fearful of offending the school's Muslim students, citing immigrants from the...

Defense Minister instructs IDF to prepare for series of operations in Gaza Strip and possible prolonged combat if needed, following emergency session to evaluate situation after Qassam rocket attack Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz instructed the IDF Saturday to carry out a series of "harsh and varied operations in the Gaza Strip," in response to the Qassam rocket attack on Sderot and its vicinity late Friday night. Mofaz also instructed the army to prepare for ground operations and to deploy troops to the northern Gaza Strip border. Mofaz convened an emergency session with senior defense establishment officials, including IDF Chief of...

Tells U.N.: 'Those who armed the Zionist occupation are trying to prevent others from being armed with peaceful technology,'; says 'Palestine should be freed' News Agencies Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country had "the inalienable right to produce nuclear fuel" and accused the United States of violating global nuclear treaties. "Those who armed the Zionist occupation are trying to prevent other countries from being armed with peaceful technology. There are a few sides who are using threats, and their power to abuse others – with the help of their control of the press,"...

Speaking in Gaza, PA leader says Gaza withdrawal a ‘historic precedent,’ adds Palestinians strive to remove occupation, settlements from all Palestinian land and chiefly Jerusalem. The Gaza Strip withdrawal was a historic precedent, with the Palestinians striving to remove the Israeli occupation and settlements from all their land, and chiefly Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday evening. Speaking in Gaza, in a speech broadcast on Palestinian television , Abbas chose to thank the Israeli Left, among other elements, for helping to bring about the disengagement. “I thank all our people and everyone who assisted us, including Israeli peace...

Iranian Supreme leader praises Palestinian terrorists, says jihad 'only way to defeat Zionist enemy' Iran's supreme leader hailed Palestinian terrorists for "expelling the Zionist regime from Gaza" and called for the "continuation and fortification of resistance and jihad," or holy war. "The only way to confront the Zionist enemy is the continuation and fortification of resistance and Jihad," Ayatollah Ali Khameni was quoted as saying Saturday in a meeting with the militant group Islamic Jihad's secretary general Ramazan Abdullah. "Although the retreat of the Zionist regime from Gaza is short of Palestinian rights and demands, it is however a big...

The following are true facts and verified statistics: The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000, or 20% of the world population. They received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature 1988 - Najib Mahfooz. Peace: 1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat 1994 - Yaser Arafat Physics: 1990 - Elias James Corey 1999 - Ahmed Zewail Medicine: 1960 - Peter Brian Medawar 1998 - Ferid Mourad The Global Jewish population is aproximately 14,000,000 or about 0.02% of the world population. They received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature: 1910 - Paul Heyse 1927 - Henri Bergson 1958 - Boris Pasternak 1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon...

Israel to be largest Jewish community For the first time in 2000 years, Israel will next year become the largest Jewish community in the world, figures released by a Jewish Agency think tank revealed Sunday. However, the report issued by The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute predicted that even in 15 years time, the majority of world Jewry will not be living in Israel (at present, about 40% of world Jewry live in Israel while by 2020, 46% will choose Israel as their home). Today, there are about 13 million Jews worldwide, while in 2020 the figure will increase to...

17th Maccabiah opens Gala opening ceremony for the 17th Maccabiah, the world's largest Jewish sporting event begins at Israel's National Stadium near Tel Aviv RAMAT GAN - The opening ceremony for the 17th Maccabiah Games, the world's biggest Jewish sporting event, has opened in Ramat Gan with the biggest show in the event's 70-year history. Israeli artist Roni Superstar officially opened the ceremony at 8:00 p.m. (1:00 EDT) and was accompanied by a group of hundreds dancers dressed in red and yellow costumes. More than 7,100 athletes from 55 countries, led by the Australian delegation, participated in the ceremony, marching...

Government votes down proposal to delay disengagement by 18-3 margin. Earlier, Sharon urges ministers to speak out against far right violence. Meanwhile, Mofaz says IDF to man voluntarily evacuated northern West Bank homes in a bid to prevent radicals from taking over JERUSALEM - Government ministers voted Sunday to reject a proposal by minister Yisrael Katz to delay the disengagement plan by 3 months. The proposal was rejected by 18 ministers who voted against the bill, while 3 voted in favor: Katz, Health Minister Danny Naveh, and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon slammed government ministers over...

Despite the distribution of a video of the Arab suicide bomber who intended to blow up a hospital by the IDF, nearly all foreign news agencies chose to boycott the story altogether. An outraged former undersecretary to US President Ronald Reagan and candidate for Republican Presidential nominee, Gary Bauer wrote a scathing critique of the world media’s decision to avoid the story. Excerpts from Bauer’s letter: ”If you don't get the Fox News Channel then you didn't see any of the dramatic footage of the Israeli army's arrest yesterday of a 21-year old, female Palestinian homicide-bomber, strapped with 25 pounds...

IDF forces arrested some 50 Islamic Jihad terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria during the course of Monday night. Islamic Jihad has been behind much of the recent terrorism wave. Half of the arrested terrorists were from the Hevron area, and the others were from the Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jenin and Kalkliye regions. The IDF emphasized that it had apprehended even terrorists who are not considered "ticking time bombs." Much of the recent terrorism wave was initiated by Islamic Jihad, which has stated that it is not obligated to implement the "lull" in terrorism announced by the PA and Hamas. Yesterday's murderous...

Young Iranian women board their flight home alive from a Paris vacation. By the time they land in Tehran, it is as if they have returned to a prison sentence. By Orli Azoulai, Yedioth Ahronoth TEHRAN – I stood behind a long line of girls, waiting to board Air France flight 39, nonstop Paris-to-Tehran. I, an Israeli reporter, going to cover an election in the country Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called Israel’s “the number one threat.” Here in Paris, the Iranians wore trendy jeans and make up, chirped happily on their cell phones with friends about last night’s adventures...

A non-commissioned officer was killed and two other soldiers were wounded in a shooting attack along the Philadelphi route late Sunday morning. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the IDF's Girit post on the Philadelphi route. A short time later, the attack escalated with the firing of an anti-tank weapon on the soldiers and civilians working west of the post and on an IDF armored personnel carrier securing them, when three of the soldiers were wounded, one of whom died later in the hospital. Soldiers returned fire, after which the Palestinian gunmen charged. In the charge, one of the gunmen...

Israeli inventor Alon Bodner has found a way to use the small amounts of air already in the water to provide oxygen to divers and even to submarines. Bodner's device has the potential to overcome limitations imposed on divers by oxygen tanks. The tanks limit not only the amount of time a diver can remain under water, but also affect the diver's buoyancy and they empty out over the course of a dive. Divers carefully monitor their buoyancy - the tendency to either float up toward the surface or to sink - and actually wear weight belts to be able...

U.S. Army newspaper says Israel participating for first time in NATO submarine escape and rescue exercise; 14 other countries, including Russia, France also taking part Israel is participating, for the first time, in a three-week long NATO naval exercise that began Friday in Italy, the U.S. Army’s official newspaper “Stars and Stripes” reported. Israel, Russia, and the Ukraine are participating in the military exercise for the first time, a senior NATO official said. NATO holds similar exercises once every three years. The ‘Sorbet Royal 2005’ exercise is the largest live submarine escape and rescue exercise ever conducted. It is being...

Security authorities uncover West Bank terror cell that planned to carry out suicide attacks in Israel. Among those arrested are four Palestinian teenagers slated to serve as suicide bombers TEL AVIV – Security authorities have uncovered a terror cell in the Balata and Askar refugee camps, in the West Bank town of Nablus, that was in the last stages of a plot to carry out suicide attacks in Israel. Terror cell members were apprehended in recent weeks, but the story was only cleared for publication Wednesday. Among those arrested are four recruiters and four 15-16 year old Palestinian boys, who...

Religious (IAF) F-16 pilot slated to head one of settlement evacuation teams talks to Ynet about the preparations, misgivings, and fears ahead of what is shaping up as one of the most controversial moments in Israel’s history TEL AVIV – First Lieutenant A. knows this is not the mission he had in mind when he joined the Air Force. The 22-year-old religious F-16 pilot, whose name cannot be disclosed due to security considerations, will head one of the teams slated to execute the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank pullout this summer. He says he enlisted in the army to...

Outgoing Chief of Staff gives "Haaretz" pessimistic view of post-disengagement life, says two-state solution 'irrelevant' By Ynetnews Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon said he is pessimistic about the country's future relations with the Palestinians, just one day after saying the Golan Heights does not enhance Israel's security. "If Israel doesn't follow up the disengagement with more 'action', there will be another outburst of violence. Terrorism will return in all its forms - shooting attacks, car bombs, suicide attacks, mortars, and Qassam rockets," Yaalon was quoted as saying by "Haaretz." Yaalon said the first outburst would be in the...

The Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee says Thursday's Bush-Abu Mazen meeting is a great blow to Israeli-U.S. relations, and proves that Sharon is deceiving the public. The committee chairman, Likud MK Yuval Shteinitz (pictured), said today that everything Sharon has long said he was promised by U.S. President George Bush amounts to zero, because "Bush said yesterday that the basis for everything is the pre-1967 borders." Prime Minister Sharon has long boasted that Bush has promised him that he would support Israel's right to retain large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria in any final-status arrangement....

U.S. Senator Hilary Clinton provides support for Israel during speech at AIPAC conference; says Europe must label Hizbullah as terror organization WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton gave unflinching support to Israel, the disengagement plan and U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq in a speech Tuesday that some said could be a blueprint for a presidential run. Clinton, a New York Democrat, received sustained applause from 5,000 members of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC for equating support of the Jewish state to support for American values. In fact, much of her speech echoed the theme pressed by AIPAC during...