Free Republic

Plans for new settlements in East Jerusalem pose a threat to peace and Israel’s relations with the European Union, the 28-member bloc said on Friday, joining the United States in its criticism of the decision. The strong language from the European Union, the biggest aid donor to the Palestinians, who seek statehood in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war, echoes criticism from Germany, France and Washington. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the decision to build 2,610 homes in Givat Hamatos would be the first new settlement in the East Jerusalem area for 15 years. “This represents a...

A group of over 50 European Parliament members has nominated a controversial Egyptian activist for the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, despite his having advocated the assassination of Israelis and political leaders in Egypt and called for an end to the State of Israel. Alaa Abdel Fattah, 32, an Egyptian blogger and political activist, has been arrested numerous times by Egyptian authorities since the eruption of a popular revolution in the country in early 2011. Abdel Fattah, who boasts 626,000 followers on Twitter and 156,000 on Facebook, was released on bail September 15 after being charged with organizing...

150 Christian citizens of Israel demonstrated on Sunday (Mar. 23) outside the European Union’s delegation in Tel Aviv against the EU’s silence in relation to what they termed “the ethnic cleansing of Christians throughout the Middle East.” The protesters demanded that the EU act on their own cry for human rights and fight for the Christians throughout the Middle East, who are quickly becoming extinct everywhere but Israel. Father Gabriel Nadaf, a Greek Orthodox priest from Nazareth and strong proponent of Christian enlistment in the IDF, demanded that the attacks on Christians be stopped and thanked Israel for being a...

Following the Bulgarian investigation which determined that Hizbullah was behind a July terror attack in Burgas which killed five Israelis, the EU announced that it would consider adding Hizbullah to its official list of terrorist organizations. "This is just one of the options and a decision has not yet been reached," said an EU spokeswoman. Foreign ministers of the European Union will meet on February 19 to discuss ...

European Jewry is in its worst condition since the end of World War II. This bleak evaluation was delivered by European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor on Tuesday. "Jews are afraid to walk the streets in Europe with Jewish symbols", Kantor said. "Synagogues, Jewish schools and kindergartens require barbed-wire fences and security, and Jewish men, women and children are beaten up in broad daylight." EJP (European Jewish Press) reports that Kantor was speaking at a lunch meeting in Brussels, organized in honor of Belgium’s ascendance to the presidency of the European Union. The participants were members of the European Parliament...